poisoned chalice

Meaning

Something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.

Synonyms

Trojan horse

Translations

cavall de Troia

Trojanisches Pferd

Danaergeschenk

cheval de Troie

paard van Troje

vergiftigd geschenk

caballo de Troya

Hyphenated as

poi‧soned

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɔɪzn̩d ˈtʃælɪs/

Etymology

From poisoned + chalice (“large drinking cup”), referring to a chalice containing a poisoned drink which is offered to someone. The earliest use of the term cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (c. 1606), in a speech in which Macbeth flinches from the prospective murder of King Duncan: see the quotation.