bitter apple
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of bitter apple
First recorded in 1860–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You can also use something like bitter apple spray on the entire length of the lights, and that will deter any chewing.”
From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2019
There was now a delicate odor, everywhere, faintly, like the blossom of the little bitter apple here in your country.
From The Sleuth of St. James's Square by Melville Davisson Post
Schweckerle had to bite into a bitter apple several times, as one after another of his children faithlessly abandoned him.
From The Adventures of the U-202 An Actual Narrative by E. Spiegel
And when he had prayed three nights after this manner, he contrived to eat a bitter apple without a grimace until he came to the last bite, which proved too much for him.
From The Story Girl by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
I never prayed that you couldn't eat a bitter apple.
From The Story Girl by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
