Some phrases in a new novel I'm reading prompted me to research the phrase "the bitter end", with interesting results.

Let's start with OED, which mentions the phrase three times and finds its history "doubtful".

• [under "end":] rope's end:. a short length of rope bound at the ends with thread, used as an instrument of punishment. bitter end (see BITTER).
  
• [under "bitter, a. and n.1":] A.2.a grievous, painful, full of affliction. A.2.b to the bitter end: to the last and direst extremity; to death itself. So commonly used: but the history is doubtful: see BITTER n.3 Cf. BIBLE Prov. v. 4.
  
• [under "bitter, n.³"; ellipses omitted:] (See quots.) 1627 A Bitter is but the turne of a Cable about the Bits. And the Bitters end is that part of the Cable doth stay within boord. 1867 When a chain or rope is paid out to the bitter-end, no more remains to be let go.
  Hence, perh.bitter end: but cf. BITTER a. 2b

Notice that the two explanations use "end" in different senses. One is talking about the end-result of a life; an effort, or some other nontangible process that continues over time. The other is speaking of the end of a rope, cables, or physical object, its physical extremity.

OED's first cite is 1849, but we can antedate "bitter end" at least two centuries, to 1622 in the end-result sense ("I will enforce them to a bitter end"), and to 1753 in the end-of-a-rope sense ("he has been chewing the bitter End of his Obstinacy").¹

But two passages in Agincourt, by Bernard Cornwell, suggest a different origin. The novel, set in the 1400s, twice uses "bitter end" to mean the rope-end you pull to tighten a noose. (A noose is a slip knot. A pull on one end, but not on the other, will tightens a noose around the neck.) This seems to tie into OED's sense of the "bitter end" as the "punishment end" (of a rope).

p. 20: "Nothing you can do about it, boy," the man said gently. "… so draw the rope tight, boy, draw it tight." … Hook … savagely pulled the rope's bitter end so that the loop constricted about the old man's neck …"

p. 301: … but there was no pity, no appeal, and no hope. The rope was already tied about a branch, the noose was pushed over Michael's head,' and two men hauled on the bitter end to hoist him into the air.

I'm sending a note to OED, alerting them, and another note to Mr. Cornwall, asking if he has any further information on this noose-usage. Does anyone here have any information?

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Use GoogleBooks to get these cites; links to it don't work here. Perhaps relevant is this early-1600s passage in the King James Bible, 2 Samuel 2:26: "Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: shufitz,

I think bitter end applies to any rope, not just to a hangman's rope. Here are some sources I found.


The Complete Idiot's Guide to Boating and Sailing, bottom of p. 134
Bitter end - the end you hold while making a knot, or the tag or cut end of any piece of line.

Glossary of rope terminology
Bitter End - in tying knots or splicing, refers to the end opposite the end in use. Used to give mechanical advantage when lifting or pulling heavy weights.

Knots & Hitches Part I
Bitter End - The end you are working with.

Knotcraft , p 37
Bitter end - The inboard end of a rope in use.

Basic Knots - Part 1
Bitter End - The end of a rope.

Boating Basics Glossary of Terms
Bitter end - The last part of a rope or chain.The inboard end of the anchor rode. (I thought rode was a typo, but it's not. I found out it's the anchor rope or chain - Boating Basics Glossary of Terms; M-W)

Wikipedia (under knot)
Bitter end - More a ropeworker's term than a knot term, the reference is to the end of a rope that is tied off, hence the expression "hanging onto the bitter end". A bitt is a metal block with a crosspin used for tying lines to, found on docks. In fact the bitter end is the end of the Anchor "Cable" that connects to the Anchor Bitts in the cable locker under the forecastle or poop using the bitter pin. (British nautical usage). Other uses are borrowed from this derivation.

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
Bitter end - A sailor's term. The bitter end of a rope on shipboard is the inboard end, the end wound around the bitts. Hence bitt-er. Since it is the very end, and it is tied to the ship, when you reach the bitter end, you have no slack to play with. Figuratively, at the bitter end you have no room to maneuver, and overtones of bitterness (rather than the bitts) come through: the bitter end then becomes the very end and the unpleasant end, hard to take.

The Phrase Finder
Bitter end - "The usually accepted explanation of the origin of this popular metaphor has a distinctly nautical origin. The anchor rope (which today is called 'line') on old sailing vessels was attached to a stout oak post called a 'bitt,' which was firmly fastened to the deck. Securing turns were taken around the bitt as anchor and anchor rope were paid out to the sea. The end of the rope nearest the bitt was called the 'bitter end.' When at the end of your rope, on land or at sea, you've reached the bitter end."
From "When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse There's the Devil to Pay: Seafaring Words in Everyday Speech" by Olivia A. Isil (International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, McGraw-Hill, 1996.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,

The reference to the cable spool and to the choking noose refers to that "loop" which has the rope wrapping around a bit more than a full circle, then passing over (to clamp down)the terminus (bitter end) of the rope; this is known to sailors (me) and Boy Scouts (me) as a "half hitch", possibly the simplest of all knots. A "full hitch" or two of these loops pretty much keeps the attachment tight and useful. Ropes were the same in 60,000 BCE; way, way before the old folks at the OED got the idea of ossifying the language.

Regarding the "bitter end" to mean death, it also has the meaning of the bitter end of the rope, because sailors as well as climbers equate the bitter end of the rope with death itself-- e.g. you ain't climbing the rope if you reach be bitter end.