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Glite Dictionary
to sound like a broken record

to sound like a broken record

6 6.5
To keep saying the same complaint again and again until people get annoyed
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : repetir como un disco rayado
  • I sound like a broken record, but BB AU has some excellent rules and regulations for their 'Housemates'.
  • hate to sound like a broken record
  • know I sound like a broken record
  • starting to sound like a broken record

So at risk of sounding like a broken record here, this is where things get tricky because you might not have a lot of time to grab the important bits.

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Examples

  • You know, you sound like a broken record.

    Iron Eagle (1986)

  • At the risk of sounding like a broken record, being in your body is the first step towards just about everything that is healing... pleasure included.

    Blog text (30)

  • God, I sound like a broken record tonight.

    Last Flight (2014)

  • It's beginning to sound like a broken record.

    Night Fright (1967)

  • I hate to sound like a broken record, but you called us.

    Copycat (1995)

  • You sound like a broken record.

    UHF (1989)

  • I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

    Blog text (4)

  • You have been sounding like a broken record for a long time.

    Blog text (4)

  • I'm sorry, Woody, I hate to sound like a broken record... but Bonnie's not Andy.

    Toy Story 4 (2019)

  • I hate to sound like a broken record, but we really need to stick to the budget this time.

Synonyms

to gripe
vsto sound like a broken record
  • Informal
38 5.6

To complain repeatedly about small things

covers repeated complaints that bother others, not only small matters
to harp
vsto sound like a broken record
  • Informal
30 6.6

To keep complaining about something in a way that annoys people

adds the sense of repeating the same point until it annoys
to repeat oneself
vsto sound like a broken record
27 3.0

Say the same thing again, often in a way that annoys people

is used for repeating complaints that annoy others
to harp on
vsto sound like a broken record
  • Informal
23 6.7

Talk again and again about the same thing and annoy people

focuses on repeating the same complaint until it irritates listeners
to nag
vsto sound like a broken record
  • Informal
8 2.6

To keep criticizing or telling someone to do things in an annoying way

is about repeating opinions or complaints rather than pressing someone to act
to bitch and moan
vsto sound like a broken record
  • NSFW
8 9.6

To complain a lot in an annoying way

is more about repeating the same complaint rather than general grumbling

How Repetitive

to sound like a broken record
  • Informal
6 6.5
to reiterate
100 5.9
to repeat
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

sound like a broken record infinitive
sounded like a broken record past
sounded like a broken record past participle
sounding like a broken record present participle
sounds like a broken record third person singular

Morphology

sound + like + a + broken + record

The verb phrase 'sound like' (to seem similar) is transparent, but the crucial image 'broken record' requires encyclopedic/cultural knowledge that a damaged vinyl record repeats or skips the same passage. Because the core metaphor relies on knowing record behavior rather than deriving meaning from the literal words alone, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not reliably infer the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom sound like a broken record comes from old record players: when a record was scratched the needle could get stuck and the same part would play again and again, like a broken record. So, if someone sounds like a broken record, they 'keep repeating the same thing' and it becomes annoying.