fly in the ointment

English

Etymology

A reference to Ecclesiastes 10:1 in the Bible.

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Noun

fly in the ointment (plural flies in the ointment)

(idiomatic) Something which ruins or spoils everything else; a nuisance or problem; an unpleasant or disagreeable detail.
- 2003, Ron Ross, Bummy Davis vs. Murder, Inc, page 287:
  Bummy Davis is no longer a pugilist. Willie is very aware of this fact and lets Johnny Attell know that there is a fly in the ointment, and Johnny, who is a very shrewd article, has his chauffeur drive him to Bradford Street so he can change the kid's mind.

Translations

something which ruins everything else

Chinese:
Mandarin: 美中不足 (zh)
Danish: hår i suppen n
French: hic (fr) m, os (fr) m, problème (fr) m, couille dans le potage (fr) f

German: Haar in der Suppe (de) n
Russian: ло́жка дёгтя f (lóžka djógtja) (a spoonful of tar), ло́жка дёгтя в бо́чке мёда (ru) f (lóžka djógtja v bóčke mjóda) (a spoonful of tar in a barrel of honey)
Serbo-Croatian: dlaka u jajetu f, длака у јајету f
Swedish: smolk i mjölken (sv), smolk i glädjebägaren (sv)

References

“a fly in the ointment” (US) / “a fly in the ointment” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.

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