bitter end
(Redirected from to the bitter end)
English edit
Etymology edit
The figurative usage is influenced by bitter (“unpleasant, arduous”).
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
bitter end (plural bitter ends)
- (nautical) That part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor.
- pay out a rope to the bitter end (pay out all of the rope)
- (nautical) The final six fathoms of anchor chain before the point of attachment in the chain locker of modern US naval vessels.
- (idiomatic) The end of a long and difficult process.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
that part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor
the end of a long and difficult process
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See also edit
- Appendix:Parts of the knot
- last gasp
- the end of one's rope
- until the bitter end
- to the bitter end
- to the bitter end and beyond