down and out
to have very little money or resources
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
After all, Europe sees itself as kinder, gentler and more socially responsible than the U.S., with an extensive, expensive social safety net that's designed to protect the most vulnerable sections of the populace… But that might just be the point: it's easier to be homeless in Europe, where even the DOWN-AND-OUT get social-welfare benefits.
(adapted from Time Magazine)
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Nobody knows you
When you’re DOWN AND OUT my friend
In my pocket I haven’t got a penny
And as for friends I ain't got too many
But when I get back on my feet again
Everybody wants to be my long lost friend
It's mighty strange without any doubt
Nobody knows you when you’re DOWN AND OUT
- from the 1922 blues classic "Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out" written by Jimmy Cox and recorded by scores of blues artists including Eric Clapton
(adapted from Time Magazine)
---
Nobody knows you
When you’re DOWN AND OUT my friend
In my pocket I haven’t got a penny
And as for friends I ain't got too many
But when I get back on my feet again
Everybody wants to be my long lost friend
It's mighty strange without any doubt
Nobody knows you when you’re DOWN AND OUT
- from the 1922 blues classic "Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out" written by Jimmy Cox and recorded by scores of blues artists including Eric Clapton
Did you
know?
down and out
adjective phrase
- lacking funds, resources or prospects
- incapacitated; prostrate (overcome with weakness, lying down)
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
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WORD ORIGIN
As Jimmy Cox wrote, "nobody knows you when you’re down and out". Likewise, no one knows where the expression "down and out" originated. Nevertheless, it’s been the subject of countless books, novels, songs, theatre plays and films. Eric Arthur Blair, British journalist and author, better known by his pen name George Orwell, covered the topic in his very first book.
Orwell went to Paris in 1928 to try and make a living as a freelance writer. Having achieved little success, he took on low-paying jobs as a plongeur (dishwasher and kitchen help), but eventually returned to London broke and sick. These adventures formed the basis for "Down and Out in Paris and London", a semi-autobiographical tale of his experience with poverty. Orwell rose to fame with the subsequent publication of his two anti-totalitarianism classics Animal Farm and 1984.
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SYNONYMS
bankrupt, beggared, broke, defeated, derelict, destitute, finished, flat broke, impoverished, indigent, in the gutter, in the poorhouse, in the red, insolvent, moneyless, needy, on the skids, outcast, out of funds, penniless, ruined, stone broke, wiped out, living hand to mouth
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
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ANTONYMS
solvent, profiting, flourishing, in the black, rich, wealthy
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO YOUR CONVERSATION TODAY:
say something like:"Reading Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' makes one realise that we still live in the best of times."
adjective phrase
- lacking funds, resources or prospects
- incapacitated; prostrate (overcome with weakness, lying down)
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
---
WORD ORIGIN
As Jimmy Cox wrote, "nobody knows you when you’re down and out". Likewise, no one knows where the expression "down and out" originated. Nevertheless, it’s been the subject of countless books, novels, songs, theatre plays and films. Eric Arthur Blair, British journalist and author, better known by his pen name George Orwell, covered the topic in his very first book.
Orwell went to Paris in 1928 to try and make a living as a freelance writer. Having achieved little success, he took on low-paying jobs as a plongeur (dishwasher and kitchen help), but eventually returned to London broke and sick. These adventures formed the basis for "Down and Out in Paris and London", a semi-autobiographical tale of his experience with poverty. Orwell rose to fame with the subsequent publication of his two anti-totalitarianism classics Animal Farm and 1984.
---
SYNONYMS
bankrupt, beggared, broke, defeated, derelict, destitute, finished, flat broke, impoverished, indigent, in the gutter, in the poorhouse, in the red, insolvent, moneyless, needy, on the skids, outcast, out of funds, penniless, ruined, stone broke, wiped out, living hand to mouth
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
ANTONYMS
solvent, profiting, flourishing, in the black, rich, wealthy
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO YOUR CONVERSATION TODAY:
say something like:"Reading Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' makes one realise that we still live in the best of times."
