woe betide
Used to warn someone that trouble will occur if that person does something: bad things will happen to.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Woe betide anyone who touches my lunch in the fridge.”
“Woe betide the person who wakes the baby up early.”
“Woe betide you if you lose my house keys.”
“The boss is in a terrible mood today, so woe betide the employee who arrives late for the meeting.”
“The coach is very strict about safety, so woe betide any player who forgets to wear their helmet during practice today.”
“I spent all afternoon cleaning the kitchen floor, so woe betide anyone who walks through here with muddy boots.”
“The director expects every detail to be perfect for the opening night, so woe betide the stagehand who forgets to bring out the correct props.”
“Woe betide the traveler who ignores the local warnings, for the mountain path becomes treacherous and unforgiving once the sun sets.”
From Early Modern English woe, denoting great sadness or calamity, and betide, meaning to happen to or befall. The construction functions as a fossilised remnant of the subjunctive mood and was formerly employed as a formal means of decrying an individual's actions.
Last updated August 10, 2026