Instead of "cry me a river", can say "cry me a lake", "cry me an ocean", "cry me a can of Pepsy" or anything of this kind?

Thanks!

Question

Instead of "cry me a river", can say "cry me a lake", "cry me an ocean", "cry me a can of Pepsy" or anything of this kind?

Thanks!

Answer

The expression is "Cry me a River". If you say any other body of water, it'll be understood but will be assumed to be a joke. I assume you would intend it as a joke, right?

However, bear in mind that the world is unfair to foreign speakers of a language. Sometimes you might intend something as a joke but people assume you've just made a mistake. Your listener might not understand you're being funny.

Answer

If I were you I would just consider "cry me a river" to be a set expression. Any other way just sounds weird.

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