weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth en · NOUN
Etymology
Biblical, from Matthew 13:42, although the exact wording is not present in any translation.
Meanings
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(figuratively, uncountable) Consternation; worry.
There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in the camp of the outsiders now.
1883, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “The Pilots’ Monopoly”, in Life on the Mississippi, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, →OCLC, page 187:There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in South Melbourne last Saturday night. For weeks past there had been only one topic of conversation—football.
1910, The Old Man, Melbourne: Punch, published 1910, page 6:And there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth among the crowd of reporters invited to the Stellan Holm Gallery, then promptly expelled from it, on Sunday night.
2005, Corey Kilgannon, “You Probably Say That to All Naughty Columnists”, in New York Times:
Relateds
Translations (17)
sh plač i škrgut zuba (consternation, worry) · ru плач и скре́жет зубо́в (consternation, worry) · nb gråt og tenners gnissel (consternation, worry) · sv gråt och tandagnisslan (consternation, worry) · de Heulen und Zähneknirschen (consternation, worry) · fr pleurs et grincements de dents (consternation, worry) · fi itku ja hammasten kiristys (consternation, worry) · vi khóc lóc nghiến răng (consternation, worry) · ru плач и скре́жет зубо́вный (consternation, worry) · pt choro e ranger de dentes (consternation, worry) · el ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων (consternation, worry) · nrf d'la plieuth'thie et d'la grînch'chie d'dents (consternation, worry) · nn græt og skjer tenner (consternation, worry) · pl płacz i zgrzytanie zębów (consternation, worry) · es llanto y rechinar de dientes (consternation, worry) · de Heulen und Zähneklappern (consternation, worry) · hu sírás és fogcsikorgatás (consternation, worry)