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I believe there is an expression to call someone (a friend) to whom you complain about something, generally a relationship problem. Could someone point to such an idiom?

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Ah, I got it, it's an "agony aunt"! – Vladtn May 4 '12 at 10:13
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you can post an answer your own question – Matt Эллен May 4 '12 at 10:13

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Do you mean confidant?

a close friend or associate to whom secrets are confided or with whom private matters and problems are discussed.

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Confidant is good too, more general maybe – Vladtn May 4 '12 at 10:15
up vote 3 down vote

For some reason my favourite word for this is bosom buddy. Perhaps it can refer to someone to whom you pour all emotions you have kept buried in your bosom.

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nice one, never heard of it – Vladtn May 4 '12 at 10:56
Ah, bosom buddies! Like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble! – J.R. May 4 '12 at 10:57
up vote 1 down vote

What I was looking for was

Agony Aunt

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... or uncle, depending on the gender. – Kris May 4 '12 at 10:21
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This seems to have a pretty specific definition of being an advice columnist for a newspaper. Is that what you intended? – JLG May 4 '12 at 11:54
Point taken and you seem to be right. However, how best to express the fact that the confidence in question is about relationship and other hardship. A confident could be for anything positive or negative. Agony aunt seems best if used somehow metaphorically. – Vladtn May 4 '12 at 12:28
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I didn't know the term, so I had to look it up. (I'm in the U.S.) Some of the definitions say it is a British expression (see Wikipedia's "advice column" entry), and some show it uncapitalized. This Wiktionary entry has a second definition that seems to fit what you're after. – JLG May 4 '12 at 13:02
I always thought 'agony aunt' referred to someone you complained about to others (one that caused you agony so to speak). Whatever the true usage, it's a Britishism (to Americans). – Mitch May 4 '12 at 13:07

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