emotional cripple
1
9.6
- noun
- /ɪˈmoʊʃənl ˈkrɪpəl/
- Slur
:
[término ofensivo y arcaico para una persona con graves dificultades emocionales]
- An emotional cripple may find it difficult to form lasting relationships because of their inability to connect emotionally.
Examples
-
My brother's an emotional cripple.
-
And your sister is an emotional cripple, so she fits right in.
Fiction book (1999) -
You know, I'm getting awfully sick of hearing about that emotional cripple.
-
My mother's affliction was panic disorder with agoraphobia, which made her an emotional cripple for many years, beginning shortly after her marriage.
Academic text (1999) -
Many people struggle with their emotions, becoming an emotional cripple as a result of past trauma.
-
After years of therapy, he no longer felt like an emotional cripple and began to express his feelings openly.
Synonyms
1
8.9
A person who feels deeply hurt and cannot cope
How Damaged
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'emotional' (relating to emotions) + 'cripple' (a person unable to function normally), yielding a person who is emotionally impaired; this compositional metaphor is straightforward and predictable from the constituents. Although slightly metaphorical and potentially derogatory, the sense is immediately inferable by a B1 learner who knows both words and common adjective+noun composition patterns.
Etymology
Emotional cripple may come from the strong physical image of cripple, a person who cannot use their legs or move well, with emotional pointing to feelings. That's why calling someone an emotional cripple means they are 'limited' in their emotions or in showing their feelings.