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
-
Start your meal with a basket of mini crab cakes, then pick an under-the-sea entrée ranging from jerked tuna tacos to a North Carolina shrimp burger to a seafood platter with your choice of shrimp, scallops, flounder, clam strips, catfish, chicken tenders, or crab cakes.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Summer will bring bay scallops still in their shells, along with soft-shell crabs.—
Betty Hallock,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Meanwhile, in California, the logo is a golden bear with a star in the middle and in Texas, the Real ID is a golden circle with a white star at the top right corner.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Despite initially remaining hot on the man's heels for a moment, the bear eventually gave up the chase.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Kitchen Accessories Collectible kitchen accessories can range from regular-use items like beautiful copper pots to more decorative items, like vintage bread boxes and hand crank mixers.—
Maggie Gillette,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 Apr. 2025
-
At the same time, Barnes was a crank of operatic grandiosity—thin-skinned, bellicose, distrustful, fickle, and vindictive.—
Susan Tallman,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The comedy community, meanwhile, was shocked, too, because Hoffman is mostly known as a curmudgeon.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Amid Baldwin’s chaotic home life with his seven young children, his wife Hilaria Baldwin tries to depict him as a lovable curmudgeon who’s often misunderstood because of his famously volatile personality.—
Martha Ross,
The Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sourpuss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sourpuss. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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