poisoned chalice
Something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to…Something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.
Meaning
1 senses(idiomatic)Something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.
Bärendienst, Danaergeschenk, vergiftetes Geschenk
медве́жья услу́гаmedvéžʹja uslúga
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From poisoned + chalice (“a large drinking cup”), referring to a chalice containing a poisFrom poisoned + chalice (“a large drinking cup”), referring to a chalice containing a poisoned drink which is offered to someone. The earliest use of the term cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (c. 1606), in a speech in which Macbeth flinches from the prospective murder of King Duncan: see the quotation.
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Forms
plural: poisoned chalices| Singular | poisoned chalice |
|---|---|
| Plural | poisoned chalices |
regular
Antonyms
1 antonymsWord family
2 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.