downer

downer (redirected from a downer)
Debbie Downer
One who is frequently or excessively pessimistic or discouraging, especially in a way that causes frustration, displeasure, or sadness for others. The phrase was popularized by the 2004 Saturday Night Live skit of the same name.
A: "Ugh, this place is boring, and I'm tired of walking everywhere!" B: "Stop being such a Debbie Downer! We're in Paris, for goodness' sake—enjoy yourself a little!"
I can't be around a Debbie Downer like Mitch anymore. He never gives our ideas a chance to succeed!
Quit being a Debbie Downer and smile for the camera!
See also: downer
downer
1. A bad or depressing thing or situation.
Geez, that movie was a real downer.
Sorry, I'm being so quiet—this day was just a downer.
2. An unpleasant experience induced by drugs.
No, I don't take that stuff anymore—I had a downer last time.
3. A drug that acts as a sedative or a depressant.
I guess those drugs were downers because they didn't give me the pick-me-up I'd hoped for.
have a downer on (one)
To dislike one. Primarily heard in UK, Australia.
If the boss has a downer on you, I doubt you'll get a good performance review.
See also: downer, have, on
put a downer on (something)
To inhibit something or make it less pleasant or enjoyable; to have a subduing or deadening effect on something.
The foul weather really put a downer on our picnic yesterday.
Without question, this tax scandal has put a downer on the senator's likelihood of being re-elected.
The construction happening near our building has really put a downer on sales this month.
See also: downer, on, put
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
have a down on someone/something or have a downer on someone/something BRITISH
If you have a down on someone or something or you have a downer on them, you do not like them or you disapprove of them. Snobs would have a down on a man with a south London accent. For some reason Jackie has always had a downer on me.
See also: down, have, on, someone, something
put a downer on something
If something or someone puts a downer on an event, they make it less enjoyable. The argument put a downer on our school holiday break.
See also: downer, on, put, something
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
downer and down and downie
1. n. a barbiturate or a tranquilizer. (Drugs.) Too much booze with those downers, and you’re dead.
2. n. a bad drug experience; a down trip. (Drugs.) That stuff you gave me was a real downer.
3. n. a depressing event; a bad situation; a down trip. These cloudy days are always downers.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also:
Debbie Downer
sipster
chew (one's) ear
chew (one's) ear(s) off
chatterbox
(all) dressed up like a pox doctor's clerk
agonize over (something)
agonized
agonize (oneself) over (something)
agonize over