Definition

1. Noun:
   • A hypocritical display of sorrow; false or insincere weeping: The phrase "crocodile tears" refers to an insincere or pretended show of sadness or remorse. It describes tears that are shed not out of genuine emotion, but for the purpose of deception or to gain sympathy.

Usage

The term is used to describe a situation where someone is pretending to be sad or upset. It is almost always used in a critical or disapproving way to point out that someone's grief is not real. - It is commonly used with verbs like shed, weep, or cry. - It often appears in contexts involving politics, public figures, or situations where someone might have a motive to fake emotion.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "to weep/shed/cry crocodile tears": This is the standard construction for using the idiom.
  • He wept crocodile tears at the funeral, though he had despised the deceased.
• The phrase can be used attributively (before a noun) to describe the nature of an emotion or display.
  • The public was tired of the senator's crocodile tears apology.

Origin and Cultural Note

The idiom originates from an ancient belief that crocodiles weep while eating their prey, feigning sorrow for the creature they are killing. This folk tale gave rise to the metaphor for false or hypocritical sadness.

Synonyms

• Feigned sorrow: Pretended grief.
• Insincere grief: Emotion that is not genuinely felt.
• Hypocritical weeping: Crying that contradicts one's true feelings or actions.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• A sob story: A tale of personal hardship, often exaggerated or invented to gain sympathy. (While a "sob story" is the tale itself, "crocodile tears" are the false emotional reaction to it.)
• Lip service: The act of expressing support or agreement insincerely. (This relates to insincere words, while "crocodile tears" relates to insincere emotion.)

Noun

1. a hypocritical display of sorrow; false or insincere weeping
   • the secretaries wept crocodile tears over the manager's dilemma
   • politicians shed crocodile tears over the plight of the unemployed