sick and tired of

Meaning

This expression means to be thoroughly annoyed, exhausted, and impatient with something or someone that keeps happening. It is stronger than just being 'tired' of something, expressing a deep sense of frustration. It is used in casual spoken English to show that you have completely lost your patience.

Examples

• I am sick and tired of hearing the neighbors argue every single night.

  I am sick and tired of hearing the neighbors argue every single night.

• She was sick and tired of her old car constantly breaking down on the highway.

  She was sick and tired of her old car constantly breaking down on the highway.

• We are sick and tired of the empty promises made by local politicians.

  We are sick and tired of the empty promises made by local politicians.

• I'm sick and tired of doing all the housework while everyone else relaxes.

  I'm sick and tired of doing all the housework while everyone else relaxes.

• He told his coworkers he was sick and tired of their constant gossip.

  He told his coworkers he was sick and tired of their constant gossip.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I am tired and sick of this cold weather.

  ✓ I am sick and tired of this cold weather.

  This is a binomial pair, meaning the order of the words is fixed. You cannot swap them to say 'tired and sick of'.

• ✗ She is sick and tired to clean up after her brother.

  ✓ She is sick and tired of cleaning up after her brother.

  The preposition 'of' must be followed by a gerund (-ing form), not a to-infinitive.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I am ___ this slow internet connection dropping every five minutes.

  💡 Extremely annoyed and out of patience.

  Show answer

  sick and tired of

• He was ___ working long hours for such low pay, so he resigned.

  💡 Thoroughly frustrated by an ongoing situation.

  Show answer

  sick and tired of