sob stuff
- noun
- /sɑb stʌf/
- Archaic
:
drama sentimental
- The film was full of sob stuff, clearly aiming to make the audience cry.
Examples
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She dismissed his explanation as just more sob stuff to gain pity.
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Editors cut out most of the sob stuff to keep the article factual.
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That movie was full of sob stuff.
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I can't stand all the sob stuff in reality shows.
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The novel was criticized for having too much sob stuff, which overshadowed the plot.
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Many people feel that the commercials often include sob stuff to manipulate viewers' emotions.
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While I appreciate a good story, I think the speaker relied too heavily on sob stuff to connect with the audience.
Synonyms
16
4.9
A story often exaggerated that tries to make people feel sorry for personal problems
5
4.2
A sad film or book that makes people cry
An emotional film or story that makes people cry
Stories or images that try to make people feel sorry to get attention and money
How Sentimental
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'sob' (to cry) and 'stuff' (things/content) make it reasonably clear that 'sob stuff' refers to things that are sad or intended to provoke tears/sympathy. However, the specific idiomatic nuance — content deliberately designed to evoke sympathy — and the informal, somewhat lexicalized usage are not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Sob stuff likely comes from sob, meaning a deep cry, and refers to sad details added to a story. One popular idea is that writers used these details to 'make people feel sorry', so sob stuff now means material meant to get pity.