tale of woe
Pitiful personal account
A tale of woe is a story of misfortune or suffering, often told to elicit sympathy.
The phrase carries a slightly theatrical tone—sometimes genuinely pitying, sometimes skeptical of exaggeration: She launched into her tale of woe about the divorce.
Spare me your tale of woe.
- jeremiadLengthy complaint prophesying doom
- accountRecord of dealings
- sob storyPitiful excuse for sympathy
- lamentMournful expression of grief
- tear jerkerSentimental work prompting sobs
misfortune · trials and tribulations · mournfulness · dark night of the soul · sadness · misery · grief · ballad · tragedy · mariner · narrative poem · hardship · redemption arc · riches to rags · sorrow · anguish · passional · fate
tale of woesuccess story
Narrative of achievement
happy ending · good news · fairy tale · comedy · celebration
tale of woetriumph
Resounding, celebrated victory
comeback story · redemption story · underdog story · hero's journey · winning streak
tale, tales, teller, tellers, woe, woes, woeful, woefully, woefulness