dismal science
Economics or the field of political economy.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My brother studies the dismal science at university.”
“She writes a weekly column about the dismal science for the local newspaper.”
“Do you think the dismal science can actually predict the next financial crisis?”
“After reading the latest report on inflation, he joked that the dismal science is more confusing than ever.”
“Many experts in the dismal science struggle to explain why consumer prices remain so high despite the recent changes in global trade.”
“Politicians often rely on the dismal science to justify their new taxes, even when the public disagrees with the math.”
“Although he initially pursued a degree in history, he eventually found himself drawn to the dismal science, fascinated by how market forces shape the rise and fall of nations.”
first recorded 19th c.
Coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1849, the term was conceived as a dry inversion of "gay science," a contemporary designation for poetry. Carlyle introduced the phrase to provide a stylistic counterpoint to the more lyrical arts, replacing the presumed levity of the poet with the perceived gloom of the economist.
Last updated August 10, 2026