a blessing and a curse
English edit
Etymology edit
From the King James translation of Deuteronomy 11:26 (“Behold, I set before you this day, a blessing and a curse.”).[1]
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s
Noun edit
a blessing and a curse (plural not attested)
- Something that is both a benefit and a burden, or that may seem initially beneficial but also brings unforeseen negative consequences
- 1835, The London Riddler; or, The Art of Teasing Made Easy:
- What is that which is a friend and an enemy, a blessing and a curse, which saves life and takes it away; is long and short, round and square, rough and smooth, straight and crooked, hard and soft, hot and cold, and most wanted when it is in greatest plenty; which accommodates itself to all palates; is sweet and of bad smell, strong and weak; sometimes able to bear great burdens, but at other times will not bear a pin.
- 1940, Olive G. Gibson, The Isle of a Hundred Harbors, B. Humphries, Incorporated, page 204:
- On the whole the Contrabando was both a blessing and a curse; it was a blessing and a great benefit in that it brought the necessities of life to the people, but a curse in that it was training them in intrigue, because the contrabandistas often resorted to piracy along the sequestered coasts and on the open seas; they would sell their commodities to the people, then turn around and loot the cattle and hogs in the fields.
Translations edit
both a blessing and a burden
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See also edit
References edit
- ^ 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 11:26: