poisoned chalice

Etymology
From +, referring to a chalice containing a poisoned drink which is offered to someone. The earliest use of the term cited in the ' is in Shakespeare’s ', in a speech in which Macbeth flinches from the prospective murder of : see the quotation.

Noun

 * 1)  Something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.

Translations

 * Armenian:
 * Belarusian: мядзве́джая паслу́га
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:
 * Czech: ,
 * Danish:
 * Dutch:, vergiftigd geschenk
 * Estonian:
 * Finnish:, myrkkymalja
 * French: ,
 * Galician: agasallo envelenado
 * Georgian: დათვური სამსახური
 * German:, , vergiftetes Geschenk
 * Italian: regalo avvelenato
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål:
 * Nynorsk: bjørneteneste
 * Polish: ,
 * Russian:
 * Serbo-Croatian:
 * Cyrillic: медвеђа услуга
 * Roman: medvjeđa usluga
 * Slovak: danajský dar
 * Spanish: regalo envenenado
 * Swedish: