A pleasant and good surprise, an unexpected thing that can relieve you of your trouble

Etymology:

  • It is an 18th century phrase, which originated from the imagination of a writer who thought that a remedy for “sore” eyes would be any pleasant sight. A ‘sore’ eye is one that is in pain, worry or some kin d of distress. Today the expression means if you are in an unpleasant situation, or you got stuck in some kind of trouble and difficulty then, any sort of help at that moment will be “sore to your eyes”.
310 Views

In the time of adversity, financial support from a friend was really a sight for sore eyes for poor Bob.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Additional definitions for 'Sight for Sore Eyes':

sight for sore eyesA pleasing sight, something that is beautiful to look at.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the Sight for Sore Eyes phrase in other languages:

penglihatan untuk sakit mata

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Sight for Sore Eyes

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this Sight for Sore Eyes phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this Sight for Sore Eyes definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Sight for Sore Eyes." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/sight-for-sore-eyes_45023>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    She passed that exam by the skin of her ________.
    A feet
    B hair
    C teeth
    D nails

    Browse Phrases.com