ENGLISH
REFERENCE

scream bloody murder

idiom
Meaning

To scream loudly in fear, pain, etc.


Examples
SIMPLE

The toddler will scream bloody murder if you take his toy.

CONTEXTUAL

When the spider crawled across her desk, she screamed bloody murder and jumped onto her chair.

COMPLEX

The witness screamed bloody murder as the masked intruder broke through the door, alerting the neighbors to the unfolding crisis.

Anchors to
Related idioms5entries
  1. 01

    give someone a bloody nose

    To defeat or frustrate someone, but without doing any permanent damage.

  2. 02

    half murder

    The committing of a grievous, but not fatal, injury.

  3. 03

    murder will out

    Secrets or hidden crimes will eventually be exposed or discovered; nothing that is secret can remain a secret forever.

  4. 04

    scream loudest

    To complain or speak up with more intensity than others, especially in relation to a trivial matter.

  5. 05

    scream one's head off

    To scream out to one's full capacity.

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