on a sour note

idiom

: in an unpleasant way
Their relationship ended on a sour note.

Examples of on a sour note in a Sentence

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That had ended on a sour note — a red card in the Conference League against Kosovan side Drita after 16 minutes, ruling him out of the rest of Shelbourne’s group-stage fixtures. Gregg Evans, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026 The Clemson Tigers ended their 2025 season on a sour note. Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 27 Dec. 2025 New York — Wall Street kicked off the week on a sour note, with stocks and bitcoin tumbling as a risk-off attitude spread through markets. John Towfighi, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025 Virginia’s Thornton brothers left on a sour note in the late aughts during a middling run of too-slick singles and a cataclysmic drug bust in the inner circle. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for on a sour note

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Cite this Entry

“On a sour note.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20a%20sour%20note. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.

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