cold comfort
American Heritage Dictionary:
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cold comfort
n.
Extremely limited empathy, sympathy, or encouragement: "I told him that the years would pass with remarkable celerity, but that appeared to be cold comfort" (Nelson Bryant).
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:
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cold comfort
Slight or no consolation. For example, He can't lend us his canoe but will tell us where to rent one--that's cold comfort. The adjective cold was being applied to comfort in this sense by the early 1300s, and Shakespeare used the idiom numerous times.
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categories related to 'cold comfort'
- Support, Encouragement, and Agreement - cold comfort: limited sympathy or encouragement
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Bed, Bath, and Beyond: Will & Grace (TV Episode)
(2001 Comedy TV Episode)
Cold Comfort
(1990 Thriller Film)
Waters, R.
(Quotes By)
Cold Comfort Farm (TV Episode)
(1971 TV Episode)
Comfort Letter
(in banking)
» More