What does it mean to be lousy with, as in “She was lousy with diamonds”? Lousy comes from the English word louse, as in lice. To be lousy with means “to have lots of something.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Lousy With”
Over on our Facebook page, someone asked,
Why do we say lousy with to mean having a whole lot of something?
You know, she was lousy with diamonds, for example.
It’s a good question.
Yeah.
And it’s a good question because most people will be surprised by the answer.
They will be surprised because it comes from louse, you know,
The singular of those things that get in your hair.
Tiny little creatures, right?
If you have them, you have a lot of them.
You are lousy with lice.
Yeah, they’re teeming.
Yeah, so not as picturesque a term.
So if you go to a lousy hotel, it might literally be a lousy hotel.
It might be lousy, that’s right.
You know, I wonder if Bed Buggy Hotel will catch on.
This place is just Bed Buggy with hipsters.
She is Bed Buggy with diamonds.
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