a mixed blessing

A situation or circumstance that has both positive and negative results. My new promotion will be a mixed blessing for my family because I'll get a substantial raise, but I'll have to work longer hours too. Living in such a warm climate is a mixed blessing for someone from the East Coast, like me. Sure, I love that the temperature rarely drops below 50 degrees, but an 80 degree Christmas just doesn't feel right to me. Having a car is a mixed blessing. Yeah, you can go wherever you want whenever you want, but that convenience sure costs a lot of money.

See also: blessing, mixed

mixed blessing

Something that has both good and bad features, as in Being accepted by the college was a mixed blessing, since she couldn't afford the tuition . [First half of 1900s]

See also: blessing, mixed

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

a mixed blessing

something good which nevertheless has some disadvantages.

See also: blessing, mixed

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

a ˌmixed ˈblessing

something good, pleasant, fortunate, etc. which also has disadvantages: Living in such a beautiful old castle is something of a mixed blessing. Just think of the heating bills, for example.

See also: blessing, mixed

mixed blessing, a

A fortunate occurrence that has some unhappy elements. The OED’s first citation of this phrase is dated 1933, in Discovery (October issue): “The introduction of European influences may prove a mixed blessing.”