beggar (redirected from beggars belief)

beg·gar  (bgr)

n.

1. One who solicits alms for a living.

2. An impoverished person; a pauper.

3. Informal A man or a boy.

tr.v. beg·gared, beg·gar·ing, beg·gars

1. To make a beggar of; impoverish.

2. To exceed the limits, resources, or capabilities of: beauty that beggars description.

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[Middle English, from Old French begart, ultimately from Middle Dutch beggaert, one who rattles off prayers.]

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beggar [ˈbɛgə]

n

1. a person who begs, esp one who lives by begging

2. a person who has no money or resources; pauper

3. Ironic or jocular chiefly Brit fellow lucky beggar!

vb (tr)

1. to be beyond the resources of (esp in the phrase to beggar description)

2. to impoverish; reduce to begging

beggarhood , beggardom n

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	beggar - a pauper who lives by begging         mendicant beggarman - a man who is a beggar beggarwoman - a woman who is a beggar cadger, mooch, moocher, scrounger - someone who mooches or cadges (tries to get something free) panhandler - a beggar who approaches strangers asking for money pauper - a person who is very poor sannyasi, sannyasin, sanyasi - a Hindu religious mendicant
Verb	1.	beggar - be beyond the resources of; "This beggars description!" resist, defy, refuse - elude, especially in a baffling way; "This behavior defies explanation"
	2.	beggar - reduce to beggary pauperise, pauperize impoverish - make poor

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beggar

noun

tramp, bankrupt, bum (informal), derelict, drifter, down-and-out, pauper, vagrant, hobo (chiefly U.S.), vagabond, bag lady (chiefly U.S.), dosser (Brit. slang), starveling Now I am a beggar, having lost everything except life.

verb

defy, challenge, defeat, frustrate, foil, baffle, thwart, withstand, surpass, elude, repel The statistics beggar belief.

Translations

beggar [ˈbegəʳ]

A. N

1. → mendigo/a m/f, pordiosero/a m/f
beggars can't be choosers → a buen hambre no hay pan duro

2. (= fellow) → tío/a m/f
lucky beggar! → ¡qué suerte tiene el tío/la tía!
poor little beggar! → ¡pobrecito!

B. VT

1. (= ruin) → arruinar

2. (fig) (= exceed) → excederse a
it beggars description → es imposible describirlo
it beggars belief → resulta totalmente inverosímil

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beggar [ˈbɛgə^r]

n → mendiant(e) m/f

vt

(= bankrupt) → ruiner

(= defy) to beggar belief → défier la raison
to beggar description → défier toute description
begging bowl [ˈbɛgɪŋ] n → sébile f
to hold out a begging bowl (mainly British) → tendre la sébile
begging letter [ˈbɛgɪŋ] n (mainly British) → lettre f sollicitant de l'argent

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beggar

n

→ Bettler(in) m(f); beggars can’t be choosers (prov) → in der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen (prov), → wer arm dran ist, kann nicht wählerisch sein

(Brit inf) → Kerl m (inf); poor beggar! → armer Kerl! (inf), → armes Schwein! (inf); a lucky beggar → ein Glückspilz m; a funny little beggar → ein drolliges Kerlchen; (= girl) → ein drolliger Fratz

vt

(= make poor) → an den Bettelstab bringen

(fig) to beggar description → jeder Beschreibung (gen) → spotten; to beggar belief → nicht zu fassen sein

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beggar:

beggarman

n (old) → Bettler m, → Bettelmann m (old)

beggar-my-neighbour, beggar-your-neighbour

n (Cards) Kartenspiel, bei dem der gewinnt, der zum Schluss alle Karten hat

beggarwoman

n (old) → Bettlerin f, → Bettelfrau f (old)

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beggar [ˈbɛgəʳ]

1. n → mendicante m/f
lucky beggar! (fam) → che fortuna sfacciata!
poor beggar! (fam) → povero diavolo!
beggars can't be choosers → o mangiar questa minestra o saltar dalla finestra

2. vt (ruin) → ridurre sul lastrico or in miseria
it beggars description → è indescrivibile

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beggar [ˈbɛgəʳ]

1. n → mendicante m/f
lucky beggar! (fam) → che fortuna sfacciata!
poor beggar! (fam) → povero diavolo!
beggars can't be choosers → o mangiar questa minestra o saltar dalla finestra

2. vt (ruin) → ridurre sul lastrico or in miseria
it beggars description → è indescrivibile

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beggar beg

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beggar → المتسول žebrák tigger Bettler επαίτης mendigo kerjäläinen mendiant prosjak mendicante 乞食 거지 bedelaar tigger żebrak mendigo попрошайка tiggare ขอทาน dilenci người ăn xin 乞丐