THE BITTER END.
Where do we pet the phrase "to the bitter end?" This is the answer. When a ship is forced to anchor in a pale or to come to rest in some dangerous position, the seamen hare to ease out the anchor cable to its extreme length, and then "bitt" the end. That means that thev have to tie the end up to a wooden stanchion known a<> a bitt. The usual order for this is "ease 'er out and bitter end." From this we have derived the phrase "the bitter end," meaning that we are seeing something through to the finish.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 17, 20 January 1940, Page 11 (Supplement)
Word Count
104THE BITTER END. Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 17, 20 January 1940, Page 11 (Supplement)
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