wormwood


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gall and wormwood

Strong feelings of bitterness and resentment. ("Gall" is bile and "wormwood" is a bitter plant.) Ever since I lost the election for school president, I only feel gall and wormwood when I think of my unworthy opponent.
See also: and, gall, wormwood

wormwood and gall

Bitterness, resentment, disappointment, or humiliation; a figurative source of such feelings. Let me tell you, the life of a book publisher is full of wormwood and gall these days. My aunt relished cruel, embittered opinions on people and the world, seeming to prefer feasting on wormwood and gall than the many joys life brings.
See also: and, gall, wormwood
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

wormwood and gall

a source of bitter mortification and grief. literary
Gall is bile, a substance secreted by the liver and proverbial for its bitterness, while wormwood is an aromatic plant with a bitter taste. The expression originated in reference to various passages in the Bible, for example Lamentations 3:19: ‘Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall’.
See also: and, gall, wormwood
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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References in periodicals archive ?
As Sarah Jane tries to find out what the mysterious Mrs Wormwood is doing at the factory, Maria and Kelsey are led into the path of a monstrous creature and a strange young boy with no name or past.
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Brady, jailed with accomplice Myra Hindley in 1966, was moved to London's Wormwood Scrubs in 1974.
Killer Brady 'had access to young boys in prison'
Brady was moved to Wormwood Scrubs in London in 1974, eight years after his conviction for murdering Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17 - two of the five children he killed with girlfriend Myra Hindley.
Moors Murderer 'allowed access to boys in prison' Crime: Brady allegedly involved in sexual incidents
Brady was transferred to Wormwood Scrubs in 1974, eight years after he was convicted of the murders of Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17 - two of the five youngsters he killed with girlfriend Hindley.
Brady's contact with boys in jail
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Prisoners at Wormwood Scrubs can choose to tuck into a Christmas pudding with brandy sauce or an apple and cinnamon lattice (for halal and vegan diets).
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Matilda Wormwood is an extraordinary little girl with a vivid imagination and sharp mind, whose talents are constantly belittled by her cruel parents and a tyrannical headmistress.
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Matilda Wormwood is a young girl with a vivid imagination and sharp mind, whose talents are constantly belittled by her cruel parents and a tyrannical headmistress.
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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides grant of USD267,870 to Southwest Research Institute
I thought I'd like to audition for Matilda's dad, Mr Wormwood, as I'm quite weaselly - I look a bit like a Quentin Blake drawing!
I'm an ogress of gargantuan proportions! Matilda is coming to Birmingham for a two-month run over the summer. ROZ LAWS meets the man playing one of Roald Dahl's nastiest characters - and loving it
Left: Sebastien Torkia and Rebecca Thornhill as Matilda's horrible parents Mr and Mrs Wormwood
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone; THEATRE; I'm an ogress of gargantuan proportions!
EVERY WHICH WAY, Errol Morris's Wormwood is of the moment, and not only because it's a crime series made for binge-watching.
REPEAT OFFENDER: Amy Taubin on Errol Morris's Wormwood
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