a lot of tsuris
- noun
- /ə lɑt əv ˈtsuːrɪs/
- Informal
:
mucho tsuris
- Dealing with that project caused me a lot of tsuris!
Examples
-
After buying the house, they discovered a lot of tsuris with the plumbing.
-
Managing the new team brought her a lot of tsuris she hadn't expected.
-
He warned me that taking this route could cause a lot of tsuris.
-
Why do you always bring a lot of tsuris into your life?
-
After buying the house, they discovered a lot of tsuris with the plumbing.
-
Managing the new team brought her a lot of tsuris she hadn't expected.
-
Dealing with that project caused me a lot of tsuris!
Synonyms
2
9.9
A lot of worry and trouble that make life hard
Long personal problems that cause worry and pain
Antonyms
How Much
- NSFW
2
8.4
- Informal
∞
1.0
∞
2.9
4
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward composition of the quantifier 'a lot of' (meaning a large amount) with the noun 'tsuris' (trouble), so its meaning 'a significant amount of trouble' is directly derivable from the parts. Although 'tsuris' is a loanword, the standard quantifier+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and predictable for learners who know the constituent words.
Etymology
A lot of tsuris comes from Yiddish, where tsuris means 'trouble' and creates the image of problems squeezing or pressing on you. So a lot of tsuris paints a picture of many problems pressing on someone, which is why it means 'a significant amount of trouble'.