A small disturbance or irritation which can spoil ones pleasure and excitement

Etymology:

  • This phrase finds its origin in Bible (Ecclesiastics 10:1). Many years ago, people believed that a small annoyance can sometimes cause a big trouble and eventually can ruin things. Ointment means a creamy substance which is used to soften or heal up the skin. Any ointment gets ruined when a fly is found in it.
5 Views

The people were going crazy in the musical concert, but sudden lights off were the fly in the ointment.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Additional definitions for 'Fly in the Ointment':

fly in the ointmentSomething which ruins or spoils everything else; a nuisance or problem; an unpleasant or disagreeable detail.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the Fly in the Ointment phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Fly in the Ointment

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this Fly in the Ointment phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this Fly in the Ointment definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Fly in the Ointment." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 Oct. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/fly-in-the-ointment_44671>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    There's no use in __________ over spilled milk.
    A crying
    B screaming
    C laughing
    D weeping