heart sinks

Related to heart sinks: take to heart

heart sinks

(One) feels disappointed or disheartened. My heart sank when I saw that the meal I'd spent all day preparing had burned in the oven.
See also: heart, sink

heart sinks, one's

One's courage or hope fails; one is very disappointed or dejected. For example, An hour before the picnic I heard thunder and my heart sank. This expression was first recorded in 1605 but was preceded in the 15th century by one's heart is at one's heels or in one's hose or in one's shoes . The present (and only surviving) usage was first recorded in 1605.
See also: heart

your heart ˈsinks

used to say that you suddenly feel sad or depressed about something: My heart sank when I realized I would have to walk home in the rain. OPPOSITE: your heart leaps
See also: heart, sink
References in periodicals archive ?
It is great to see the resurgence which has firmly put the city back on the map in terms of commerce, tourism and confidence but my heart sinks each time I read about the so-called benevolence of the European Regional Development Fund.
My heart sinks if the example of David Beckham kicking a football from a red double-decker and people waving umbrellas.
When you see a headline in a major newspaper about a "perv priest," your heart sinks.
Your heart sinks as you return to your car to see a yellow ticket stuck to the windscreen.
Your heart sinks when they are bought in for treatment.
My heart sinks when I learn that the building has already been listed as a contender for this year's building of the year.