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Glite Dictionary
to feel like a louse

to feel like a louse

9.1
To be guilty and ashamed after treating someone badly
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : sentirse un canalla
  • After forgetting his anniversary, he felt like a louse for days.

Examples

  • I feel like a louse for not helping her.

  • Whenever I disappoint my team, I feel like a louse and want to make things right.

  • She felt like a louse after lying to her friend about the incident.

  • He felt like a louse after lying to his friend.

  • After forgetting her birthday, I really felt like a louse for not being there to celebrate.

  • He felt like a louse when he realized he had hurt his friend's feelings.

  • When he didn't share the prize, he felt like a louse for being so selfish.

Synonyms

to feel bad about
vsto feel like a louse
108 3.4

To be sorry about an action you did or failed to do

focuses on guilt that follows mistreating another person
to feel like a worm
vsto feel like a louse
  • Offensive
9.1

To be very ashamed and think you are worthless

centers on guilt that follows behaving badly toward another person

Antonyms

to take pride
45 3.4

To feel pleased about something you or others do

How Guilty

to feel like a louse
  • Offensive
9.1
guilty
793 1.4
ashamed
504 1.0

Surface Forms

feel like a louse infinitive
felt like a louse past
felt like a louse past participle
feeling like a louse present participle
feels like a louse third person singular

Morphology

feel + like + a + louse

The phrase is compositional: 'feel' (experience) + 'like' (similar to) + 'a louse' (a contemptible or unpleasant person) yields the sense 'feel like a contemptible person', which maps naturally onto feeling guilty or ashamed. Simile-based comparisons of this kind are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Feel like a louse may come from calling someone a louse, a tiny, dirty insect that people dislike. Imagining yourself as that low, annoying creature makes a strong picture of being mean or shameful, so the phrase means 'to feel guilty or ashamed' after you have hurt someone.