Meaning
To spoil someone's plans, excitement, or moment of celebration, usually by delivering unwelcome news or a discouraging opinion. Almost always framed as an act regretted by the speaker, as in 'I hate to rain on your parade, but...'. Informal and mildly figurative; usually introduces a caveat or bad news with regret rather than malice. Regional use: American English origin; now General English.
Origin
An American image, a downpour spoiling a marching parade, that predates its famous showstopper. Poem Analysis notes that the idiom dates from at least the early 1900s and was popularized in 1964 by the song 'Don't Rain on My Parade', written by Bob Merrill with Jule Styne for the Broadway musical Funny Girl, with the 1968 film version exposing the phrase to a far wider audience. The song fixed the negative imperative in the public ear, while the plain declarative form, 'to rain on someone's parade', is the standard dictionary headword.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- don't rain on my parade
- rain on my parade
- rained on her parade
Usage Examples
- I hate to rain on your parade, but the venue doubles its fee on Saturdays.
- Finance rained on the launch parade by freezing the travel budget.
- Don't rain on her parade; let her enjoy the promotion for a day before mentioning the workload.