English in a Minute: To Poison the Well

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Some people get their drinking water from a well. So, adding poison to it would be a terrible thing to do. But what does the idiom “to poison the well” mean?

D: My old roommate opened a restaurant – Pat’s Perfect Pizza Palace.

A: Ohmygosh! I’m having my birthday party there!

D: Bad idea. Pat was an awful roommate. So, his restaurant will be awful too.

A: Don’t poison the well! It’s my birthday!

If you “poison the well,” you try to negatively influence how someone feels about something or someone. It often involves trying to damage someone's reputation. Dan clearly has a personal reason for wanting to poison the well.

And that’s English in a Minute!