🗓️ Idiom: Shoulder to Cry On (noun)
💬 Meaning
- A person who listens and offers comfort when someone is upset.
- Someone who provides emotional support during stressful times.
🧠 Example Sentences
- After the project failed, Emma was a shoulder to cry on for her colleagues.
- Every team needs someone who can be a shoulder to cry on when things get difficult.
- When I was stressed about deadlines, my manager was a shoulder to cry on and helped me calm down.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from the image of crying on someone’s shoulder for comfort. It began to be used in English in the early 1900s to describe emotional support rather than a physical act. Today, it’s often used at work to describe a caring and empathetic person.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
When Jane felt overwhelmed at work, her friend was a __________ who listened and supported her.
Answer
shoulder to cry on
2. Choose the correct answer:
A “shoulder to cry on” is:
a) Someone who gives financial help
b) Someone who listens and offers comfort
c) Someone who gives work instructions
Answer
b) Someone who listens and offers comfort
3. Change the sentence using “shoulder to cry on”:
“He comforted his coworker when she was having a hard time.”
Answer
He was a shoulder to cry on when his coworker was having a hard time.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
📚 Learning Resources
👉 Idioms for Different Types of Work Styles
👉 Business English Idioms List
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
