Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to take the jam out of someone's doughnut

to take the jam out of someone's doughnut

9.9
To make someone feel disappointed or upset
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : arruinar la diversión
  • The sudden cancellation took the jam out of my doughnut, and I couldn't hide my disappointment.

Examples

  • Hearing the bad news really took the jam out of her doughnut this morning.

  • He really takes the jam out of someone's doughnut when he complains.

  • Don't let criticism take the jam out of your doughnut; keep smiling!

  • Don't take the jam out of her doughnut!

  • Don't let criticism take the jam out of your doughnut; keep smiling!

  • Hearing the bad news really took the jam out of her doughnut this morning.

  • The sudden cancellation took the jam out of my doughnut, and I couldn't hide my disappointment.

Synonyms

to get (someone) down
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • Informal
87 4.2

To make someone feel sad or discouraged

leans more toward irritation or spoiled enjoyment than deep sadness
to sadden
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
76 2.3

To make someone feel sad

focuses more on irritation and spoiling enjoyment than on sadness
to displease
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
28 4.7

To make someone feel annoyed or unhappy

implies a stronger spoiling of enjoyment or deeper irritability
to embitter
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
5 6.8

To make someone feel hurt and angry for a long time

causes temporary disappointment or irritation rather than long term bitterness
to ruin the mood
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • Informal
3 4.1

Make people feel less happy in a situation

targets an individual's displeasure or irritability rather than only group mood
to knock the stuffing out of
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • Informal
1 8.6

To make someone feel very tired, weak, or sad

is milder, mainly making someone feel disappointed or irritable
to disgruntle
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
1 8.0

To make someone feel unhappy or annoyed

emphasizes short disappointment or irritation rather than ongoing dissatisfaction
to do someone's head in
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • UK
1 9.8

To make someone feel very annoyed or upset

is about spoiling mood or enjoyment rather than causing confusion
to piss in someone's cornflakes
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • Offensive
9.9

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

is a milder idiom that causes disappointment without crude language
to shit in someone's cereal
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • Offensive
9.9

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

is similar in meaning but uses less offensive everyday phrasing
to acerbate
vsto take the jam out of someone's doughnut
9.9

To make someone feel more bitter and angry about something

tends to be shorter and more about spoiling immediate enjoyment

Antonyms

to please
216 1.0

To make someone happy or satisfied

How Pleasant

to delight
79 2.1
to please
216 1.0
to take the jam out of someone's doughnut
  • Informal
9.9
to ruin the mood
  • Informal
3 4.1

Surface Forms

take the jam out of someone's doughnut infinitive
took the jam out of someone's doughnut past
taken the jam out of someone's doughnut past participle
taking the jam out of someone's doughnut present participle
takes the jam out of someone's doughnut third person singular

Morphology

take + the + jam + out + of + someone's + donut

The literal image — removing the tasty part of a doughnut — maps fairly directly onto the idea of taking away someone's enjoyment, so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer it means spoiling or disappointing someone. However, the pastry imagery is a somewhat figurative, culture-specific metaphor rather than a fully compositional meaning, so the sense is not entirely predictable without some exposure.

Etymology

Take the jam out of someone's doughnut comes from the clear image of someone taking the sweet jam out of a doughnut so the treat becomes dry and less fun. So, to take the jam out of someone's doughnut means to 'make someone feel disappointed or spoil their enjoyment'.