fly in the ointment

phrase

as in difficulty
something that makes a situation more complicated or difficult The delay in the delivery of our appliances was a fly in the ointment during our kitchen renovation.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Thesaurus Entries Near fly in the ointment

Cite this Entry

“Fly in the ointment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fly%20in%20the%20ointment. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!