poor little rich girl
1
7.7
- noun
:
pobre niña rica
- How’s the poor little rich girl?
Examples
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Lindsay may have finally run out of luck as far as her scofflaw ways go, as apparently her probation officer is finally fed up with her "poor little rich girl" antics, and will recommend that her probation for theft be rescinded (specifically for lying to cops about an auto accident), and she may well finally see some serious jail time, maybe this time three or four months instead of three or four hours.
Blog text (9) -
In the media, she is often labeled a poor little rich girl for showcasing her wealth while struggling with personal issues.
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Hey, how`s my poor little rich girl today?
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She's a poor little rich girl.
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You're an overpaid prophet and I'm a poor little rich girl.
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NAOMI IS YOUR CLASSIC POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL.
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Naomi is the definition of a poor little rich girl, having everything material but feeling deeply lonely.
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Gloria Vanderbilt was often described as a poor little rich girl, despite her immense fortune and fame.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A young man who has a lot of money but feels lonely or unhappy
Antonyms
How Unhappy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase juxtaposes contradictory adjectives (poor + rich) with a diminutive 'little' to signal ironic pity; a learner who knows 'poor' and 'rich' can guess that it expresses sympathy for a wealthy girl's emotional unhappiness, but this requires interpreting 'poor' in a figurative/ironic sense and recognizing the diminutive nuance. Because the overall ironic/pragmatic meaning is partly derivable from the parts but not fully predictable without exposure to this idiomatic pattern, it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
Poor little rich girl paints a clear picture: a young woman who has money (rich) but seems lonely or 'unhappy'. That's why the phrase means a wealthy woman who looks 'unhappy' despite her money.