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Glite Dictionary
to yelling at clouds

to yelling at clouds

9.9
To complain angrily about things you cannot change, often sounding out of touch
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : gritar a las nubes
  • He spent hours yelling at clouds about the new laws that made no sense to him.

Simpsons me, you know, old man and yells at cloud and that's very much that's characterizing a lot of you know, especially our policies around technology.

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Examples

  • Some people waste their time yelling at clouds instead of taking action to improve their situation.

  • Rather than finding a solution, she is just yelling at clouds and lamenting about the changes in society.

  • The Old Man Yells at clouds videos, but there are videos to help clarify in my mind why things are the way they are and if there's any way that I can help change it.

    Rick Beato

  • Simpsons me, you know, old man and yells at cloud and that's very much that's characterizing a lot of you know, especially our policies around technology.

    Triggernometry

Synonyms

to rant
vsto yelling at clouds
  • Informal
70 4.8

To speak loudly and angrily for a long time

focuses on anger about things that cannot change and seem outdated
to gripe
vsto yelling at clouds
  • Informal
38 5.6

To complain repeatedly about small things

is often about things that cannot be changed and seem out of touch
to rant and rave
vsto yelling at clouds
  • Informal
9 6.9

Shout angrily and complain for a long time

is angry complaining about unchangeable matters and sounding out of touch
to bitch and moan
vsto yelling at clouds
  • NSFW
8 9.6

To complain a lot in an annoying way

is similar but about matters that cannot be changed and seem out of touch
to squawk
vsto yelling at clouds
  • Informal
7 6.0

To complain loudly in a way that annoys other people

tends to be anger about things that are unchangeable and irrelevant
to grumble about
vsto yelling at clouds
6 4.1

To complain quietly about something you do not like

is quieter complaining about matters that cannot be changed and sound outdated
to fulminate
vsto yelling at clouds
  • Formal
1 9.0

To speak or write very angrily against something to show strong criticism

is protest aimed at matters that cannot be changed and feel obsolete

Antonyms

to adapt
150 3.0

To change your behaviour or ideas to deal with new situations

How Effective

to take action
161 2.8
to propose
∞ 3.0
to voice concern
  • Formal
7 3.9
to complain
∞ 1.0
to yelling at clouds
  • Informal
9.9

Surface Forms

yelling at clouds infinitive
yelled at clouds past
yelled at clouds past participle
yelling at clouds present participle
yells at clouds third person singular

Morphology

yelling + at + cloud

The literal image of 'yelling' directed 'at clouds' is accessible to a learner and can suggest futility or addressing something that cannot respond, so part of the intended meaning (complaining to no effect) is inferable from the constituents. However, the fuller idiomatic nuance — that the complaint is about something unchangeable, irrelevant, or shows one is out of touch — is a pragmatic/cultural extension not fully predictable from the words alone.

Etymology

The idiom yelling at clouds comes from the image of someone yelling at the clouds in the sky, which cannot hear or change. So it means 'to complain angrily' about something you cannot change, often in a way that seems 'out of touch'.