as in crab
an irritable and complaining person
that old sourpuss must spend all his time making sure no one traipses across his lawn
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Recent Examples of sourpuss
The Republicans sat like stubborn sourpusses eager for the 81-year-old president to stumble.
—
Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
More than a few folks, including one sourpuss in Toronto, have assumed the name refers to how fast your soup arrives once ordered, but that didn’t make sense to me.
—Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2021
Four generations on, the Grinch’s humble roots on the page as a black-and-white sourpuss, looking down on Who-ville and rueing the impending town feast, have become a Christmas cottage industry.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2020
The suggestion turns me into Schrödinger's sourpuss: neither angry nor disappointed but a superposition of both.
—Tom Simonite, Wired, 18 Feb. 2020
Even a sourpuss like Heifetz let his hair down madly dashing through the finale like a child’s first moments at Disneyland.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2019
Reeves shoulders the dual roles of twin brothers with markedly divergent personalities: peevish sourpuss John and sweet-natured James, who is deep into a losing battle with AIDS.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
According to the Washington Post, a jury awarded famed sourpuss Grumpy Cat $710,000 in damages on Monday, settling a lawsuit that began in 2015 between the cat’s company and the Grenade beverage company.
—Kate Hogan, PEOPLE.com, 25 Jan. 2018
To most Internet users, Grumpy Cat - the feline with a furry frown - is a minor celebrity that capitalized on the popularity of memes in 2012 as a perpetual sourpuss.
—The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 25 Jan. 2018
Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
More than a few folks, including one sourpuss in Toronto, have assumed the name refers to how fast your soup arrives once ordered, but that didn’t make sense to me.
—Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2021
Four generations on, the Grinch’s humble roots on the page as a black-and-white sourpuss, looking down on Who-ville and rueing the impending town feast, have become a Christmas cottage industry.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2020
The suggestion turns me into Schrödinger's sourpuss: neither angry nor disappointed but a superposition of both.
—Tom Simonite, Wired, 18 Feb. 2020
Even a sourpuss like Heifetz let his hair down madly dashing through the finale like a child’s first moments at Disneyland.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2019
Reeves shoulders the dual roles of twin brothers with markedly divergent personalities: peevish sourpuss John and sweet-natured James, who is deep into a losing battle with AIDS.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
According to the Washington Post, a jury awarded famed sourpuss Grumpy Cat $710,000 in damages on Monday, settling a lawsuit that began in 2015 between the cat’s company and the Grenade beverage company.
—Kate Hogan, PEOPLE.com, 25 Jan. 2018
To most Internet users, Grumpy Cat - the feline with a furry frown - is a minor celebrity that capitalized on the popularity of memes in 2012 as a perpetual sourpuss.
—The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 25 Jan. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sourpuss
Noun
-
The crab shirt, and right, Barney's smiling reaction.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
-
These ranged from more than 30 new breakfast items and dishes like soft shell crab tempura bao buns in Red Ginger.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Hunters also got the OK to kill bears over a bait or feed station, a tactic forbidden in the last hunt, in 2015.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Aug. 2025
-
One bear is allowed per permit, and the wildlife commission must be notified within 24 hours of a bear being taken.—
Jennifer Borresen,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There's German engineering at its heart courtesy of a Brose TF Sprinter mid-mount motor for efficient power at the crank, producing 90 Nm (66 lb.ft) of torque to help attack inclines.—
Paul Ridden
July 23,
New Atlas,
23 July 2025
-
In short order a cottage industry of cranks and pseudo-experts arose, whose steady emission of contextless facts and unprovable assertions long ago seeped into the popular understanding of the bombing.—
Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Noun
-
As a no-nonsense curmudgeon with a heart of gold, Bubba Ray took to coaching the Season 1 cast of WWE LFG like a duck to water.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2025
-
Hence, in this digital age when many people no longer stock postage stamps or envelopes or have any idea where their nearest postal box might be, only the most irascible of curmudgeons would make the effort.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2025
Noun
-
To the detriment of the proceedings late in the second act, there is a wad of exposition gristle that brings things full stop in the form of a labored revelation of why Diamond is such a grump and perhaps maybe won’t be one in the future.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
30 July 2025
-
Cross serves the town of Eddington as a useless figure of authority—a shiftless, asthmatic grump who mumbles complaints at lawbreakers and halfheartedly manages a staff of cops at his office.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sourpuss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sourpuss. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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