cruel mistress
- noun
- Literature
:
dura maestra
- Time proved to be a cruel mistress, stealing his youth without mercy.
Examples
-
Ambition is often described as a cruel mistress that demands everything and gives little in return.
-
For many artists, fame can be a cruel mistress that brings both adoration and suffering.
-
Time is a cruel mistress that waits for no one.
-
Many believe that fate is a cruel mistress in their lives.
-
Ambition is often described as a cruel mistress that demands everything and gives little in return.
-
For many artists, fame can be a cruel mistress that brings both adoration and suffering.
-
Time proved to be a cruel mistress, stealing his youth without mercy.
Synonyms
142
4.2
Very harsh and severe, causing great difficulty or pain
126
4.9
A person or thing that causes a lot of harm
120
2.9
Very severe and demanding, making life or work difficult, for example very bad weather
29
7.0
Something very difficult to do or deal with
Antonyms
How Harsh
Surface Forms
Morphology
cruel + mistress
This is a simple adjective + noun composition: 'cruel' (harsh, unkind) modifies 'mistress' (a female controller or ruler), so the phrase literally suggests a controlling female figure who is harsh. As a metaphorical personification (e.g. 'Time is a cruel mistress'), a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer it means an unforgiving or relentless force, making the phrase transparently compositional.
Etymology
Cruel mistress may come from old writers who imagined hard forces like time or fate as a woman in charge, a mistress who is cruel. So calling something a cruel mistress means it is 'harsh' and 'unforgiving', demanding much and giving little.