agony uncle
- noun
- /ˈæɡəni ˈʌŋkl/
- Literature
:
consejero sentimental
- In his latest column, the agony uncle offered advice to readers struggling with relationship issues.
Examples
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The agony uncle addressed a reader's concerns about work-life balance in his recent article.
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We are the the agony uncles, you guessed it.
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Many people find comfort in the wisdom shared by the agony uncle in the local newspaper.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A woman who writes a newspaper or magazine column giving readers advice about personal problems
How Professional
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'agony' clearly signals severe personal troubles and 'uncle' can be understood metaphorically as a trusted advisor, so a learner who knows both constituents could infer the phrase relates to someone who helps with problems. However, the specific occupational sense of a newspaper/magazine advice columnist is not directly predictable from the parts, making the expression only partially transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Agony uncle comes from old newspaper 'agony columns' where people sent letters about personal problems and asked for help. The person who answered was like a kind family uncle, and the word agony showed how much pain or trouble the letters described, so today agony uncle means a man who gives 'advice' about readers' personal problems.