Word of the Day

: November 24, 2014

Job's comforter

noun JOHBZ-KUM-fer-ter

What It Means

: a person who discourages or depresses while seemingly giving comfort and consolation

Job's comforter in Context

Danny, a reliable Job's comforter, assured Shane that the girl who'd broken his heart had always been out of his league.

"It's a blessing for me, he said, that my joints are frozen solid with the arthritis, because if I tried to run around like I used to, my heart would give out sure. I told him he was a Job's comforter, what good is keeping my heart going like a watch that won't tell time if I can't get up and cook." - Ross Macdonald, The Ivory Grin, 1952

Did You Know?

Poor Job. He's the biblical character who endures extraordinary afflictions in a test of his piety. He loses his possessions, his children, and his health. And then, to make matters worse, three friends show up to "comfort" him. These friends turn out to be no comfort at all. Instead, they say that the things that have been happening to him happen to all sinners-and point out a number of his faults. In the mid-18th century, English speakers began using the phrase "Job's comforter" for anyone who offers similarly unhelpful consolation.