fly in the ointment

fly in the ointment
a fly in the ointment
Fig. a small, unpleasant matter that spoils something; a drawback. •

We enjoyed the play, but the fly in the ointment was not being able to find my hat afterward.

It sounds like a good idea, but there must be a fly in the ointment somewhere.

* * *
{n. phr.}, {informal} An unpleasant part of a pleasant thing; something small that spoils your fun. * /We had a lot of fun at the beach; the only fly in the ointment was George's cutting his foot on a piece of glass./ * /Your new job sounds too good to be true - interesting work, high pay, short hours. Isn't there any fly in the ointment?/

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fly in the Ointment — EP/Демо …   Википедия

  • Fly in the ointment — The English idiom That s the fly in the ointment is used to express a drawback, especially one that was not at first apparent, e.g. : Sam s lack of map reading skills turned out to be the fly in the ointment when he applied for the job. A likely… …   Wikipedia

  • Fly in the Ointment — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Fly in the Ointment EP de AFI Publicación 13 de marzo de 1995 Género(s) Hardcore punk …   Wikipedia Español

  • fly in the ointment — A fly in the ointment is something that spoils or prevents complete enjoyment of something …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • fly in the ointment — {n. phr.}, {informal} An unpleasant part of a pleasant thing; something small that spoils your fun. * /We had a lot of fun at the beach; the only fly in the ointment was George s cutting his foot on a piece of glass./ * /Your new job sounds too… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Fly in the Ointment — Infobox Album | Name = Fly in the Ointment Type = ep Artist = AFI Released = March 31, 1995 Recorded = Genre = Hardcore punk Length = 5:25 Label = Wedge Records Producer = Reviews = Last album = Bombing the Bay (1997) This album = Fly in the… …   Wikipedia

  • fly in the ointment — noun an inconvenience that detracts from the usefulness of something (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑troublesomeness, ↑inconvenience, ↑worriment * * * phrasal : a detracting factor or element : an agent that spoils something that is otherwise pleasing *… …   Useful english dictionary

  • fly in the ointment —    A fly in the ointment is something that spoils or prevents complete enjoyment of something.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    A fly in the ointment refers to something that prevents a situation from being completely satisfactory.    … …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • fly\ in\ the\ ointment — n. phr. informal An unpleasant part of a pleasant thing; something small that spoils your fun. We had a lot of fun at the beach; the only fly in the ointment was George s cutting his foot on a piece of glass. Your new job sounds too good to be… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • fly in the ointment — a small thing that spoils enjoyment The problem with the music was a fly in the ointment at the party. (в обиходной речи) ложка дегтя в бочке меда (в Библии) муха в бальзаме Мертвые мухи портят и делают зловонною благовонную масть мироварника …   Idioms and examples

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