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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Term “Maudlin” When Being Overemotional Come From and What Does the Word Mean?

Where Did the Term “Maudlin” When Being Overemotional Come From and What Does the Word Mean?

April 4, 2020 by Karen Hill

A lot of drinkers are referred to as “maudlin” when they become weak and overemotional and “cry in their beer.”

The word is a common British alteration of Magdalene, the surname of Mary, the woman who repented and was forgiven by Jesus Christ in Luke 7:37.

In medieval paintings, as a sign of repentance, Mary Magdalene is most often shown with eyes swollen from weeping.

The use of her name in terms of being maudlin, meaning “tearful sentimentality,” was first recorded in 1631.

The chance of giving birth to a genius is 1 in 250.

The odds of dating a supermodel are 88,000 to 1.

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The odds of becoming a saint are 20,000,000 to 1.

The odds that a first marriage will survive without separation or divorce for fifteen years are 1.3 to 1.

The chance of being audited by the tax department is 1 in 100.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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