woe betide ... Definition

woe
noun woes

1. Grief; misery.

Thesaurus: suffering, misery, heartbreak, pain, grief, depression, melancholy, tribulation, wretchedness, sorrow, anguish, agony; Antonym: joy, happiness.
2. Affliction; calamity.

Form: woes (often)

exclamation

1. old use
Expressing grief.

Idiom: woe betide ...

old use, facetious
May evil befall, or evil will befall whoever offends or acts in some specified way.
Example: Woe betide anyone who disturbs him

Idiom: woe is me

old use
Alas!

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon wa.