English speakers often say, “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but…” and then they proceed to tell you some bad news! Funny how that works. Let’s take a closer look at this common English phrase.
To bear, in this case, means to bring. It can also mean to carry or to endure, in different contexts. So, a bearer is a bringer—a person who brings something—in this case, bad news.
Bad news does not mean fake news; it means news of bad events or any news that might make you unhappy. It may or may not mean the kind of news you see on television; news can also refer to information from friends and other people.
So, a bearer of bad news is any person who tells you something that might make you unhappy:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is going to rain all day.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but our proposal was not accepted.
This phrase is valuable for politeness; Americans and Brits both apologize for bringing bad news. While British people are very polite in general, Americans just don’t like negativity. In fact, Americans may even feel that a person who brings bad news is a bad person, and so it is important to apologize for doing so—or, perhaps better, socially, not to say anything negative at all!