sting in the tail

sting in the tail

A problematic, disappointing, or negative ending to something, such as a story or announcement, that is otherwise upbeat and positive. The movie began as a sweet, romantic love story, so the tragic ending was an unexpected sting in the tail. The government's announcement about minimum wage increases came with the sting in its tail that tax rates would be increasing as well.

See also: sting, tail

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

a sting in the tail

BRITISH

COMMON If something such as a remark or a plan has a sting in the tail, it seems good at first but contains an unpleasant part at the end. Even the remark about Chomsky being `arguably the most important intellectual alive' had a sting in its tail. The sentence went on: `how can he write such nonsense about international affairs?' The increased tax rate was an unexpected sting in the tail in an otherwise acceptable Budget. Note: This is a reference to a scorpion, which is small and looks harmless, but has a poisonous sting in its tail.

See also: sting, tail

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

sting in the tail

an unpleasant or problematic end to something.

1992 Ronald Wright Stolen Continents At last Hendrick came to the sting in the tail of his speech.

See also: sting, tail

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

a ˌsting in the ˈtail

(informal) an unpleasant feature that comes at the end of a story, an event, etc: Roald Dahl’s stories often have a sting in the tail; that’s why I like them.

See also: sting, tail

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017