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bitter end

[ bit-er end bit-er end ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the conclusion of a difficult or unpleasant situation; the last or furthest extremity:
Despite the unpleasant scenes in the movie, she insisted on staying until the bitter end.
Nautical.
1. the inboard end of an anchor chain or cable, secured in the chain locker of a vessel.
2. the end of any chain or cable.

bitter end

noun

nautical the end of a line, chain, or cable, esp the end secured in the chain locker of a vessel
1. until the finish of a task, job, or undertaking, however unpleasant or difficult
2. until final defeat or death

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bitter end¹

1620–30 in form bitters end; probably bitt + -er ¹( def ), later taken as bitter

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bitter end¹

C19: in both senses perhaps from bitt

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Idioms and Phrases

The last extremity; also, death or ruin. For example, I'm supporting the union's demands to the bitter end , or Even though they fight a lot, I'm sure Mom and Dad will stay together to the bitter end . The source of this term may have been nautical, a bitter being a turn of a cable around posts, or bitts , on a ship's deck, and the bitter end meaning “the part of the cable that stays inboard.” Thus, when a rope is paid out to the bitter end, no more remains. [Mid-1800s]

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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