BITTER END

I. noun

Etymology: perhaps from bitter (II) end

Date: 1827

: the last extremity however painful or calamitous

• bit·ter-end·er ˌbi-tər-ˈen-dər noun

II. noun

Etymology: bitter (a turn of cable around the bitts)

Date: circa 1862

: the inboard end of a ship's anchoring cable