ə ˈpɔɪzənd ˈtʃælɪs
General
formal
advanced
- Literally:
- A drinking cup containing poison
What does "a poisoned chalice" mean?
Something that seems attractive but is actually harmful
Examples
- The CEO position turned out to be a poisoned chalice.
- Winning the contract proved to be a poisoned chalice when the true costs became apparent.
- Many politicians considered the cabinet post a poisoned chalice.
Origin
From Shakespeare and historical assassination methods. Popular in British political journalism.
How to use it
Common in British political and business journalism.
Similar expressions
Trojan horse
Greek gift
wolf in sheep's clothing
Opposites
golden opportunity
gift horse
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "a poisoned chalice" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.