{"id":10010,"date":"2022-10-06T19:15:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T19:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10010"},"modified":"2022-10-06T19:15:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T19:15:11","slug":"when-it-rains-it-pours-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/when-it-rains-it-pours-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"When It Rains It Pours \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did a plumbing catastrophe just flood your bathroom, only for you to find out that you also got a parking ticket \u2014 and you think your girlfriend is about to dump you? That would be a classic \"when it rains, it pours<\/strong>\" situation. Keep reading to discover where this idiom comes from, and how to use it.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u200bMeaning<\/h2>\n

The phrase \"when it rains, it pours<\/strong>\" \u2014 which also exists as the variation \"it never rains but it pours<\/strong>\", more often used in the UK \u2014 usually means that bad things have a way of occurring close together<\/u>.<\/p>\n

\"When it rains, it pours\" can also simply be used to mean that excess tends to spira<\/u>l, and it is occasionally used to talk about good<\/em> things happening in close succession, too.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u200bExample Usage<\/h2>\n

If you're still not sure how you can use the phrase \"when it rains, it pours\" in a sentence, these examples serve to illustrate its meaning and usage:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \"Guess what? Someone stole my wallet today! Then I was late for that work meeting and lost my chance to get promoted, and after all that, I found out my mom was just diagnosed with diabetes. You know what they say, when it rains, it pours!\"<\/li>\n
  • \"I'm really trying to think positively this year, and I'm already seeing the effects. I have a great new apartment and met some really cool people. I'm hoping the trend will continue, because when it rains, it pours.\"<\/li>\n
  • \"Global events have done nothing but show us that when it rains, it pours, in recent years.\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u200b\u200b\u200bOrigin<\/h2>\n

    The expression \"when it rains, it pours\" \u2014 as well as the variation \"it never rains but it pours\" \u2014 is primarily used in the United Kingdom<\/strong>, which is famous for its spells of rain. While it is not entirely clear when this informal saying was first used, it appeared in print in as early as the late eighteenth century<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    The idiom invokes a vivid image. Nobody likes to be soaked in the rain, but heavy showers are certainly worse than light drizzles. When you use the saying \"when it rains, it pours\", you show that you were unprepared for the unfortunate things that have befallen you in quick succession.<\/p>\n

    The phrase is typically used to describe unpleasant or even catastrophic events, but may also be used to describe neutral events like a sudden busy spell at work, or even a succession of unexpected positive events.<\/p>\n

    Because rain is typically seen as a nuisance<\/strong>, however, \"when it rains, it pours\" typically has a negative connotation and it is much rarer to see the expression used with a positive meaning.<\/p>\n

    \u200bPhrases Similar to When It Rains It Pours<\/h2>\n

    If you don't want to use the phrase \"when it rains, it pours\", you could also say:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Misery loves company \u2014 an expression that shows that unfortunate events tend to attract other unpleasant events, or that sad people seek each other out.<\/li>\n
    • Bad things come in threes \u2014 a saying that references the idea that multiple misfortunes often occur close together.<\/li>\n
    • Trouble never knocks at your door in solitude<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      \u200bPhrases Opposite to When It Rains It Pours<\/h2>\n

      The idiom \"when it rains, it pours\" is usually (though not always) used to talk about a series of unpleasant events. If you are simply looking for phrases with neutral or positive meanings, you could say:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Like attracts like<\/li>\n
      • Birds of a feather flock together<\/li>\n
      • We attract what we reflect<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \u200b\u200bWhat Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n

        The correct saying is \"when it rains, it pours<\/strong>\". You can also say \"it never rains but it pours\".<\/p>\n

        \u200b\u200b\u200bWays People May Say When It Rains It Pours Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

        Before you use the phrase \"when it rains, it pours\", you should be aware that it is typically used to describe negative events. Some people do, however, use \"when it rains, it pours\" to talk about a series of extremely positive events.<\/p>\n

        \u200b\u200b\u200bAcceptable Ways to Phrase When It Rains It Pours<\/h2>\n

        You can use the phrase \"when it rains, it pours\" to describe a series of unfortunate things that happened to you, or in an attempt to comfort others who have just been faced with misfortune.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Did a plumbing catastrophe just flood your bathroom, only for you to find out that you also got a parking ticket \u2014 and you think your girlfriend is about to dump you? That would be a classic \"when it rains, it pours\" situation. Keep reading to discover where this idiom comes from, and how to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10011,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10010\/revisions\/10011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}