crocodile tears
tears that you cry when you are not really sad or sorry
TRANSLATION
crocodile tears = Krokodilstränen to cry/shed crocodile tears = Krokodilstränen heulen/weinen --- GOOGLE INDEX crocodile tears: approximately 519,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Real emotion or CROCODILE TEARS? An emotional US President Barack Obama has unveiled new restrictions on gun purchases at the White House, saying the "constant excuses for inaction" have to stop. At one point, the president appeared overwhelmed, as he listed some of the mass shootings that had taken place in America."
BBC News
BBC News
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crocodile tears
idiom
- tears that you cry when you are not really sad or sorry
(Cambridge Dictionary)
The phrase crocodile tears, which is describes a form of superficial, or fake, sympathy, stems from an ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while eating their prey. Greek historian Plutarch mentioned this phenomenon in some of his writings, suggesting that the crocodile's behaviour is like someone who desires for another person's demise and then publicly grieves for them.
References to this behaviour can be found in a wide range of literature, from the Bible to Shakespeare. In Henry Purcell's 1688 opera Dido and Aeneas for instance, Aeneas tells Dido he must abandon her to found Rome on the Italian Peninsula. She then proclaims: "Thus on the fatal banks of the Nile, Weeps the deceitful crocodile."
This myth of course derives not from any emotion of the part of the crocodile; rather it has a more pragmatic, biological cause. Fluid from the tear ducts helps to clean and lubricate the eye, a process that is more visible when crocodiles have been on dry land for a while.
In the case of North American crocodiles (called alligators) and saltwater crocodiles, the tears help get rid of the excess salt that they take in with their food. Other research suggests the "crying" may be caused by the hissing of warm air during feeding, which is forced through the sinuses, stimulating the tear glands into emptying fluid into the eye.
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SYNONYMS
hypocrite crying, fake tears, insincere emotion, superficial sorrow, false grief
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"She negotiated a huge compensation packet upon leaving, some wondered if those were real or crocodile tears during her farewell speech."
idiom
- tears that you cry when you are not really sad or sorry
(Cambridge Dictionary)
The phrase crocodile tears, which is describes a form of superficial, or fake, sympathy, stems from an ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while eating their prey. Greek historian Plutarch mentioned this phenomenon in some of his writings, suggesting that the crocodile's behaviour is like someone who desires for another person's demise and then publicly grieves for them.
References to this behaviour can be found in a wide range of literature, from the Bible to Shakespeare. In Henry Purcell's 1688 opera Dido and Aeneas for instance, Aeneas tells Dido he must abandon her to found Rome on the Italian Peninsula. She then proclaims: "Thus on the fatal banks of the Nile, Weeps the deceitful crocodile."
This myth of course derives not from any emotion of the part of the crocodile; rather it has a more pragmatic, biological cause. Fluid from the tear ducts helps to clean and lubricate the eye, a process that is more visible when crocodiles have been on dry land for a while.
In the case of North American crocodiles (called alligators) and saltwater crocodiles, the tears help get rid of the excess salt that they take in with their food. Other research suggests the "crying" may be caused by the hissing of warm air during feeding, which is forced through the sinuses, stimulating the tear glands into emptying fluid into the eye.
---
SYNONYMS
hypocrite crying, fake tears, insincere emotion, superficial sorrow, false grief
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"She negotiated a huge compensation packet upon leaving, some wondered if those were real or crocodile tears during her farewell speech."
