彼の母親は可哀相だ。あいつときたら母親泣かせもいいところだ。

Sentence Discussions Japanese
#1
English Translation

I feel sorry for his mom; he really puts her through the wringer.

What is the usage of 良いところ in this sentence?

#2

いいところ means “a good thing” or “the right moment” according to my dictionary.

So I think the sense is “when it comes to that guy, the tears of a mother are completely spot-on”.

#3

I see, thank you! Do you know why 母親泣かせも can be said as such, instead of 母親泣かせるも？

#4

I have found 親泣かせ in my dictionary, with the meaning (as a name or -na adjective) “making one’s parent cry” or "disgraceful child.

Also, ~泣かせ is a suffix that can be added to a name describing people , with the meaning “embarassing or troubling terribly” said people. And in addition someone that embarass or troubles said people.

So, yes I think the word is used as a noun here, not a verb.

I have found another expression that might be related to this:

と言うところだ which apparently has a similar meaning to もいいところだ

https://jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/というところだ-といったところだ-iu-tokoro-da-meaning/

So I would revise my translation a bit, saying that “when it comes to that guy, he is nothing more than a disgrace to his mother” would be more accurate.

#5

I’m afraid you guys might mix up the following two phrases:

  1. 〜がいいところだ = X is the advantage/strength of this person. (e.g. Always smiling is the attractive nature of Mary. = いつも笑顔なのがメアリーのいいところだ。)

  2. 〜もいいところだ = this person/situation deserves to be criticized for X. = X is exactly the right word to describe this terrible person/situation. = I made my best, but I cannot find any word other than X to describe this terrible person/situation.

〜もいいところだ is a frequent idiom used always in negative context. For more information, please refer to the fourth definition of Kotobank .

いいところ = a right/decent place.

〜もいいところだ = even if I choose the most amicable word, X is the right one to describe this person/situation. = This person/situation is the worst kind of X.

For example:

トムは母親泣かせもいいところだ = Pain-in-the-a＊＊-for-his-mother is the right word to Tom’s behaviors. I cannot find a better word.

最近の急激な物価高は、まさに冗談もいいところだ。= The recent hyperinflation goes crazy, really. (I cannot laugh at the recent hyperinflation. It’s not a joke, seriously.)

〜もいいところだ is preceded by a noun. ○○泣かせ (the person who makes ○○ cry) is a compound noun as in 恋人泣かせ, and 店泣かせ. You cannot convert a noun into a verb by inserting る. 母親を泣かせるもいいところだ is grammatically broken and very unnatural.

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