weak sister
1
9.0
- noun
- Offensive
:
cobarde
- If you can't weed out the "weak sisters" in your book, how can we trust you not to waste our time or the clients' time by constantly presenting ideas that should never see the light of day?
Examples
-
Romney was a weak sister all along... he refused to blast Obama with negative ads, as Obama did to him starting in May.
Blog text (34) -
A couple of weak sisters in the Association have been talking about signing a separate contract with the Union.
-
We are the weak sister, the offshoot, unrecognized as fully grown.
Academic text (1992) -
Murphy's a weak sister.
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In our sports team, she is often seen as the weak sister compared to the more talented players.
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Despite their similar backgrounds, John became the weak sister in the group, never participating in the tough challenges.
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During debates, he was viewed as the weak sister of the team, often hesitating to take a strong stand.
Synonyms
584
2.3
A person who is too afraid to face danger or hard things
24
4.4
A person who has little body strength and gets tired easily
10
9.3
A person who is too afraid to try things
1
5.4
A person or thing that others see as less important than the rest of the group
1
9.9
A person, often a man, who seems weak, afraid, or easily upset
Antonyms
How Brave
Surface Forms
Morphology
weak + sister
The adjective 'weak' clearly signals low ability, so part of the meaning is compositional; however 'sister' here is used figuratively to mean a member of a group rather than a literal female relative. That figurative use is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who knows the words, so the expression is partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
One story says the phrase weak sister comes from the image of a family where one sister was smaller or more shy, so people called her the weak one. That's why calling someone a weak sister means they are the 'cowardly' or 'least capable' member of a group.