горе луковое (gore lukovoye)

Literally: Onion grief

Example: “Опять разбил чашку, горе луковое.” — He's broken another cup; he's an accident waiting to happen.

English equivalent: An accident waiting to happen

Origin: Onions make people cry while peeling and cutting them, so an "onion grief" is a sorrow that brings tears without being serious. A Russian phrase handbook links the phrase to that observation and notes that Vladimir Dahl recorded it in his dictionary. Today it is said, half fondly, of a hopeless, bumbling person.