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What is the difference between the two sentences:

I broke up with her and she cried over me.

I broke up with her and she cried all over me.

It's based in a song:

Why does she sing her sad songs for me, I'm not the one
To tenderly bring her soft sympathy, I've just begun
To see my way clear and it's plain if I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear for her pain, just a tear and that's all
What does she want me to do
She says that she knows that moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes to say I don't care and she knows that I do
Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
Who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong

She'd like to think that I'm cruel but she knows that's a lie for I would be
No more than a tool if I allowed her to cry all over me

But I don't know if this means that she would cry because of him or she cries to him, to persuade or use him like a consolation.

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When you say:

I broke up with her and she cried over me.

it means she was crying because you broke up. It's your fault.

The object of cried over is generally the reason why.

I broke up with her and she cried all over me.

To me (AmE) this does not sound natural, but pretty much it is literal. She was crying and the tears fell on you. But we don't know why she was crying.

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  • I based me in a verse of a song: She'd like to think that I'm cruel but she knows that's a lie for I would be No more than a tool if I allowed her to cry all over me
    – Apprentice
    Commented May 31, 2015 at 4:27
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    The fact is women often use tears to try to get their way in some dispute.
    – user3169
    Commented May 31, 2015 at 16:37
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For me, "cry over" means "cry about" or, perhaps, "cry because of". If she "cried over me", then she cried about losing me, she cried, thinking about our relationship. She lamented.

"Cry all over" would suggest that her tears actually fell on you.

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  • So "Cry all over me" could be when she is crying about her problems and using me like a consolation? Or she still crying because of me, but the tears fell on me?
    – Apprentice
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 22:01
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    Well if you have "I broke up with her and she cried all over me", the very strong implication is that the reason she is crying is because you broke up with her. And, yes, her tears are falling on you.
    – Au101
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 22:03
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Both terms are used to look down upon someone for being emotional about something. She cried over losing three points on her test implies an over reaction.

To cry all over is an exaggeration of the same term: She cried all over something as petty at that.

NB: either term can be used literally but that is not how I usually see them. Maybe a cake at a picnic is ruined because the baby literally cried all over it, but that seems like a stretch.

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  • Thank you @user1717828 We have a similar expression in my language: "She laid down her tears on me." But we can't say for what she is crying.
    – Apprentice
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 22:31

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