Word.ws English Dictionary

this is why we can't have nice things

this is why we can't have nice things phrase: expressing reproach when somebody harms or damages something.

Phrase

this is why we can't have nice things

  1. (humorous) Expressing reproach when somebody harms or damages something.
    • "This is why we can't have nice things," said Dorrie's father, breaking into her thoughts. "Like appliances."
      Dorrie glanced over at the corner of the ballroom-declared-kitchen to see him lifting several tacks out of a pot of clam chowder with a slotted spoon.2016, Jen Swann Downey, The Ninja Librarians: Sword in the Stacks
    • This is why we can't have nice things, darling / Because you break them, I had to take them away / This is why we can't have nice things, honey, oh / Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me? / This is why we can't have nice things2017, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, “This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things”, in Reputation, performed by Taylor Swift
  2. (broadly, sardonic) Expressing reproach and resignation about human nature.

Origin of this is why we can't have nice things

Said to have been popularized by American stand-up comedian Paula Poundstone.

Questions about this is why we can't have nice things

What does this is why we can't have nice things mean?
This is why we can't have nice things means expressing reproach when somebody harms or damages something.
What part of speech is this is why we can't have nice things?
This is why we can't have nice things is a phrase.

Words near this is why we can't have nice things in the dictionary

  1. this is someone
  2. this is the life
  3. this is war
  4. this is where I came in
  5. this is where we came in
  6. this is why we can't have nice things
  7. this just in
  8. this mean time
  9. this means war
  10. this meantime
  11. this minute

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: this is why we can't have nice things (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-this is why we can't have nice things.wav.

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