a rod in pickle
a rod in pickle
obsolete A punishment or retaliation kept in store for future use. The prime minister insisted that Britain had a rod in pickle for any nation that dared encroach upon its sovereign borders in force.
a rod in pickle
a punishment in store.In pickle means ‘preserved ready for future use’. This form, which dates from the mid 17th century, has superseded an earlier mid 16th-century variant a rod in piss .