bitter end Hear it!

bitter end definition

bitter end

the inboard end of a rope, cable, or chain

Etymology: archaic bitter, turn of cable about a bitt

bitter end Idioms

to the bitter end

Etymology: so called because with the cable out to the bitter end, no freedom of action remains; meaning infl. by bitter,

  1. until the end, however difficult or distressing
  2. until death

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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