cross to bear
8
7.2
- idiom
:
carga que llevar
- Having hurt you is my cross to bear, and I beg the Lord every day for your forgiveness.
- got a cross to bear
If I don't, well, that'll be my cross to bear, you know?
- If I don't, well, that'll be my cross to bear, you know?
- No, because that's his cross to bear, not mine.
- But that's my cross to bear, you know?
- There isn't anybody in life that doesn't have, you know, some cross to bear.
- Aflac insurance is my cross to bear.
- Man included Hitler, but Man had another cross to bear.
- That's now every single person that got hurt or died is your cross to bear until you can't bear it anymore.
Examples
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Raising her younger siblings after their parents passed away has become her cross to bear.
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She had an unrequited love, and this was her cross to bear.
Fiction book (1998) -
We all have our own cross to bear, right?
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That must be quite some cross to bear.
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We all have our cross to bear.
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It's my cross to bear.
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Every business has its own special cross to bear, I suppose.
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This is my cross to bear.
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That is a cross to bear, I think about that all the time, how hard this would be to do alone.
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We all have our weaknesses and crosses to bear; some are heavier than others.
Blog text (9)
Synonyms
482
3.4
A heavy load or something that causes worry and difficulty
293
4.0
A shape with a vertical piece and a horizontal piece used as a Christian sign
5
8.1
A heavy burden that makes life hard
Antonyms
How Burdensome
- Informal
6
8.4
- Informal
5
8.1
8
7.2
482
3.4
651
2.4
∞
1.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'cross' (here understood as a metaphorical burden) combined with the verb 'bear' (to tolerate/endure) composes directly to mean 'a burden one must endure.' The word 'to' is a grammatical linker, so a B1 learner who knows these constituent meanings can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Cross to bear may come from the image of Jesus carrying a heavy wooden cross on his shoulders, where to bear means to carry. So it now means 'a burden' or 'a difficult situation' someone must live with.