Montezuma's revenge
1
8.8
- noun
- /ˌmɒntəˈzuːməz rɪˈvɛnʤ/
- NSFW
:
la venganza de Moctezuma
- Drinking untreated water during his trip led to a painful bout of Montezuma's revenge.
Examples
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Travelers are often warned to be cautious of Montezuma's revenge when trying unfamiliar foods.
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After eating street food in Mexico, he unfortunately suffered from Montezuma's revenge for the next few days.
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It's Montezuma's revenge.
Synonyms
81
2.1
Frequent watery bowel movements that can cause dehydration
43
2.7
An illness from eating food with harmful germs
5
5.8
An illness that makes the stomach and intestines sore and causes vomiting and diarrhea
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
Montezuma's + revenge
The expression combines a cultural proper name with 'revenge' as a metaphorical or folkloric reference to an illness; the specific sense 'traveller's diarrhea' is not derivable from knowing the parts. A B1 learner who knows 'Montezuma' and 'revenge' would not predict the diarrhoea meaning without prior exposure, so the expression is idiomatic and opaque.
Etymology
Montezuma's revenge comes from a story about Montezuma, an old ruler in Mexico. One popular story says his spirit takes revenge on visitors who eat new or unsafe food, so the phrase now jokingly means 'diarrhea' or 'stomach trouble' that travelers get.