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Phrase: Sucker for punishment
Have you ever known someone who was a sucker for punishment?
You know what I mean.
A sucker for punishment seems to be attracted to pain, suffering, difficulty, and everything else that makes life challenging and unpleasant.
Under different circumstances, they may be called idiots or highly determined.
The informal definition of an idiot is someone who continues to do the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different result.
When someone is determined, they repeatedly do something while making slight adjustments until they attain the desired outcome.
While we may say both types of people are suckers for punishment, there is a vast difference between an unsuccessful idiot and a successful, determined person.
Which one are you?
That’s a rhetorical question!
Keep the answer to yourself.
I suppose most of us are suckers for punishment in one way or another.
Whether we are or not is the opinion of others, not necessarily what we think of ourselves.
Let’s look at Kei Komuro, the man who married a Japanese princess and took her to New York.
He has failed the New York bar exam a few times, yet he continues trying.
His detractors may say he is an idiot who is a sucker for punishment and should give up and become a bus driver or something.
On the other hand, his supporters may also see his determination as a sign he is a sucker for punishment but in a good way.
How does the expression go, fall down seven times, get back up eight?
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 65.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.