dip (one's) pen in gall

dip (one's) pen in gall

To write something that conveys one's animosity, anger, or malice. The critic must have dipped his pen in gall before writing that very negative review.

See also: dip, gall, pen

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

dip your pen in gall

write unpleasantly or spitefully.

Gall is another word for bile, the bitter secretion of the liver; it is used in many places in the Bible as a metaphor for bitterness or affliction. See also wormwood and gall (at wormwood).

See also: dip, gall, pen

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017