worse for wear
8
6.8
- idiom
:
en mal estado
- You look a little the worse for wear.
- looks worse for wear
- much worse for wear
- somewhat worse for wear
It was looking a bit worse for wear.
- It was looking a bit worse for wear.
- It's a pub online and people will say, Oh my God, she's she's worse for wear or oh, Katie's obviously quite a few drinks in.
Examples
-
I must say, you're looking a little worse for wear.
-
He's out, a little worse for wear perhaps, a little more subdued than usual.
Fiction book (1993) -
Hey, you look a little worse for wear.
-
We passed people coming back, and they looked a bit worse for wear.
Blog text (23) -
You look a bit worse for wear, now, don't you?
-
Peter and Dan were waiting in the lobby, and both of them looked considerably the worse for wear.
Fiction book (1991) -
Billy, you're looking worse for wear.
-
You're lookin' a little worse for wear, my boy.
-
Well, you don't look too much the worse for wear, Mr. Gitts, I must say.
-
After hiking for hours, I felt a bit worse for wear but still enjoyed the view.
Synonyms
27
4.4
Very tired after doing too much work for a long time
13
4.1
Feeling very tired and having no energy
10
6.7
Very tired or no longer interesting because people use it too much
2
2.8
Looking very tired because of too much work or worry
1
5.1
Being very tired and without energy
A person who is very tired and needs rest after hard work
Feeling very tired after hard physical or mental effort
Very low on energy and unable to do much
Antonyms
How Worn
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'worse' (comparative) and 'wear' (deterioration) directly point to being in a poorer condition due to use, so a learner who knows those words can often infer the general sense. However, the prepositional pattern 'for wear' is somewhat idiomatic and the exact phrasing is fixed, so the meaning is only partially predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Worse for wear may come from the image of clothes or tools becoming more used and damaged over time. When something has more wear it looks worse, so the phrase means 'in poor condition' or 'feeling tired and worn out'.