turn on the waterworks
English
Verb
turn on the waterworks
- (dated, informal, figuratively) To start crying, especially in a way that the speaker finds irritating.
References
- “turn on the waterworks” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
- “turn on the waterworks” (US) / “turn on the waterworks” (UK) in Macmillan Dictionary
- “turn on the waterworks” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “turn on the waterworks” in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.