(See also THWARTING.)

albatross around the neck See BURDEN.

ball and chain See BURDEN.

bottleneck A narrow passage; an impasse; congestion or constriction; a traffic jam. The reference is to the thin, narrow neck of a bottle, which is necessarily constrictive. By extension, the word is used for any point at which passage or flow becomes impeded because the volume of a larger area must move into a smaller. The equivalent French term is embouteillage. The word appeared in print by 1907 in the Westminster Gazette.

choke-pear Something difficult or impossible to “swallow”; something “hard to take”; a difficulty. The figurative sense of this term is an extension of its literal meaning, i.e., a variety of pear with a harsh, bitter taste. Samuel Collins used the expression in Epphata to F.T. (1617):

The term has been used literally since 1530 and figuratively since 1573.

cooling card Anything that diminishes or lessens a person’s ardor or enthusiasm; a damper. According to the OED, cooling card is apparently a term of some unknown game and is used figuratively or punningly with the meaning above. This expression, now obsolete, dates from 1577. In Henry Dircks’ Life the Marquis of Worcester is quoted as using it thus in 1664:

fly in the ointment A triviality which ruins an otherwise enjoyable occasion; a negative element or consideration. The Biblical origin of this expression appears in Ecclesiastes (10:1):

In modern usage, the phrase implies minor inconvenience or un timeliness:

a lump in the throat A choked-up or tight feeling in the throat at times of deep emotion. A person usually gets a lump in his throat when he is very touched and on the verge of tears—either from happiness or from sadness. A literal lump in the throat would inhibit speech and swallowing. The figurative expression has been in use since the latter half of the 19th century.

The similar expression have the words stick in one’s throat implies an inability to express one-self due to intense emotion.

a new wrinkle See ADVANCEMENT.

red tape See COMPLICATION.

skeleton at the feast A source of gloom or sadness at an otherwise festive occasion; a wet blanket, a party pooper; something that acts as a reminder that life holds sorrow as well as joy. According to the Moralia, a collection of essays by Plutarch (A.D. circa 46-120), the Egyptians always placed a skeleton at their banquet tables to remind the revelers of their mortality.

It was also common practice for many monastic orders to place a skull or death’s head on the refectory table to remind those present of their mortality.

there’s the rub Said of an impediment, hindrance, or stumbling-block, especially one of an abstract nature; the crux of a problem. In this expression, rub alludes to the rubbing of a spoon inside a mixing bowl, an occurrence which interferes with smooth stirring. Although rub in this sense had been in use for some time before Shakespeare, he popularized the phrase by incorporating it into Hamlet’s famous soliloquy:

A variation is here lies the rub.

third wheel See EXTRANEOUSNESS.

wet blanket A discouraging or dampening influence on others’ enjoyment of a party or similar pleasurable occasion; a person who is habitually grouchy or depressed; a kill-joy, party pooper, spoilsport. Literally, a wet blanket is one that has been soaked in water and is used to smother or quench a fire. The figurative implications are obvious.