Embarrassment of riches

Embarrassment of riches

An embarrassment of riches is an idiom that means an overabundance of something, or too much of a good thing, that originated in 1738 as John Ozell's translation of a French play, "L'Embarras des richesses" (1726).

Example: "All four of them have their own cars but there's no room in the driveway--an embarrassment of riches".

The idiom is also the title of other works:

* "The Embarrassment of Riches", a 1918 drama film. [http://www.answers.com/topic/the-embarrassment-of-riches]
* "Embarrassment of Riches (EP)", a 2006 music album by Elephant Micah


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  • Embarrassment of Riches (EP) — Infobox Album | Name = Embarrassment of Riches Type = EP Artist = Elephant Micah Released = September 2006 Genre = Lo fi Label = LRRC Reviews = Denver Post [http://www.denverpost.com/music/ci 4575258 link] Last album = Tropical Depression (2006)… …   Wikipedia

  • embarrassment of riches —    When there is much more of something than necessary, and it is difficult to make a choice, you have an embarrassment of riches.     Our hosts presented us with an embarrassment of riches. There was so much food that we didn t know where to… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • embarrassment of riches — noun An abundance or overabundance of something; too much of a good thing. Roger was in the library, trying to choose, from an embarrassment of riches, the ten of his fathers books which he was to be permitted to take to the city …   Wiktionary

  • embarrassment of riches — see embarras de richesses …   Useful english dictionary

  • (an) embarrassment of riches — an embarrassment of riches phrase so many good things that it is difficult to choose between them Thesaurus: choices and the process of choosingsynonym Main entry: embarrassment * * * an embarrassment of ˈriches f10 idiom so many good things that …   Useful english dictionary

  • an embarrassment of riches — formal if you have an embarrassment of riches, you have more of something than you need and this makes it difficult for you to make a choice. This club has an embarrassment of riches. All their players are good, so who do they pick for their… …   New idioms dictionary

  • embarrassment — [[t]ɪmbæ̱rəsmənt[/t]] embarrassments 1) N VAR: oft N prep Embarrassment is the feeling you have when you are embarrassed. It is a source of embarrassment to Londoners that the standard of pubs is so low... I think I would have died of… …   English dictionary

  • embarrassment — em|bar|rass|ment [ımˈbærəsmənt] n 1.) [U] the feeling you have when you are embarrassed embarrassment at ▪ She suffered extreme embarrassment at not knowing how to read. ▪ He could not hide his embarrassment at his children s rudeness. to sb s… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • embarrassment */ — UK [ɪmˈbærəsmənt] / US [ɪmˈberəsmənt] noun Word forms embarrassment : singular embarrassment plural embarrassments 1) a) [uncountable] a feeling of being nervous or ashamed because of what people know or think about you I felt my face burning… …   English dictionary

  • embarrassment — em|bar|rass|ment [ ım berəsmənt ] noun * 1. ) uncount a feeling of being nervous or ashamed because of what people know or think about you: I felt my face burning with embarrassment. a ) count someone or something that makes you feel ashamed:… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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