A long-suffering person puts up with trouble, delay, or other people's annoying ways, and does not blow up. The word is almost always about a person, and it often comes before a noun: his long-suffering wife, their long-suffering teacher, the long-suffering neighbours. There is often a small smile in it — a little sympathy, sometimes a little joke. It does not usually mean the person is terribly ill or in deep tragic pain, though the pieces of the word can make it look that way. It means they have been patient for a long time while someone else is messy, late, loud, or difficult. Stories and newspapers are fond of it, and they lean on a few set pictures (the partner at home, the teacher of a wild class). Said kindly, it praises patience. Said with a raised eyebrow, it can gently make fun of how much that person has to bear.