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Glite Dictionary
to piss in the popcorn

to piss in the popcorn

9.9
To say or do something that spoils other people's enjoyment
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : joderle la noche
  • They were having a great time until he arrived and pissed in the popcorn with his negativity.

Examples

  • Every time someone brings up politics at dinner, it just pisses in the popcorn for everyone else.

  • Why do you always piss in the popcorn during our movie nights?

  • I didn't mean to piss in the popcorn, I just wanted to be honest about my concerns.

  • Don't piss in the popcorn at the party!

  • Every time someone brings up politics at dinner, it just pisses in the popcorn for everyone else.

  • Don't piss in the popcorn at the party; we are all trying to have a good time!

  • Why do you always piss in the popcorn during our movie nights when everyone else is enjoying themselves?

Synonyms

to ruin the mood
vsto piss in the popcorn
  • Informal
3 4.1

Make people feel less happy in a situation

is about spoiling a situation or people's enjoyment rather than only the atmosphere
to piss in someone's cornflakes
vsto piss in the popcorn
  • Offensive
9.9

To spoil someone's good mood by being negative or critical

is about spoiling a situation or the enjoyment of others rather than one person
to shit in someone's cereal
vsto piss in the popcorn
  • Offensive
9.9

To spoil someone's good mood or stop them enjoying something

is often sudden and unexpected rather than gradual or planned
to pee off
vsto piss in the popcorn
  • UK
9.8

To make someone angry or upset

is about spoiling a situation or others' enjoyment rather than simple annoyance

Antonyms

to delight
48 1.0

To enjoy something very much

How Spoiling

to ruin
∞ 2.0
to piss in the popcorn
  • Offensive
9.9
to spoil
80 2.8
to dampen
16 4.4

Surface Forms

piss in the popcorn infinitive
pissed in the popcorn past
pissed in the popcorn past participle
pissing in the popcorn present participle
pisses in the popcorn third person singular

Morphology

piss + in + the + popcorn

The figurative meaning is a straightforward extension of the literal image: 'piss' (to urinate) + 'popcorn' (a snack) evokes contaminating the food and thereby ruining others' enjoyment, so a learner who knows the words can readily infer 'to spoil or ruin a situation'. The expression is colloquial and vulgar in register, but its compositional logic is transparent rather than idiomatic or unpredictable.

Etymology

The idiom piss in the popcorn may come from the shocking image of someone literally pissing into a bowl of popcorn at a movie, which would ruin everyone's snack and mood. So it means 'to spoil or ruin' a situation or other people's enjoyment.