bittersweet (biters wet)

and n. I. a. Uniting bitterne and sweetne ; pleasant and painful at the same time. One by one the fresh-stirred memories, So bitter - sweet , flickered and died away. William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 139. II. n. That which is both bitter and sweet: as, the bitter - sweet of life. I have known some few, And read of more, who have had their dose, and deep, Of those sharp bitter - sweets . B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2. bittersweet (bit'er-swet), n. 1. The woody nightshade, Solanum Dulcamara , a trailing plant, native of Europe and Asia, and naturalized in the United States. Its root and branches Flowering branch of the Climbing Bittersweet (Celastrus scan dens ), with fruit and flower on larger scale. (From Gray's "Genera of the Plants of the United States.") when chewed produce first a bitter, then a sweet taste; they have long been used as a remedy in various skin-diseases. Its small scarlet berries, resembling red currants, though not absolutely poisonous, are not wholesome. The is the Celastrus scandens, also known as the staff - tree. 2. Same as bitter - sweeting. 569 vent the chain from jumping off while veering. See cut under bitt - stopper.