a mixed blessing

a mixed blessing

A situation or circumstance that has both positive and negative results. My new promotion will be a mixed blessing for my family because I'll get a substantial raise, but I'll have to work longer hours too.
See also: blessing, mixed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

mixed blessing

Something that has both good and bad features, as in Being accepted by the college was a mixed blessing, since she couldn't afford the tuition . [First half of 1900s]
See also: blessing, mixed
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a mixed blessing

something good which nevertheless has some disadvantages.
See also: blessing, mixed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a ˌmixed ˈblessing

something good, pleasant, fortunate, etc. which also has disadvantages: Living in such a beautiful old castle is something of a mixed blessing. Just think of the heating bills, for example.
See also: blessing, mixed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

mixed blessing, a

A fortunate occurrence that has some unhappy elements. The OED’s first citation of this phrase is dated 1933, in Discovery (October issue): “The introduction of European influences may prove a mixed blessing.”
See also: mixed
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • mixed blessing
  • mixed blessing, a
  • never a rose without a/the prick
  • in a sticky situation
  • mixed up in (something)
  • be in the same boat
  • come full circle
  • come/go full circle
  • full circle, come/go
  • it is what it is
References in periodicals archive
and Europe since the 1970s and are considered by environmental advocates to be a mixed blessing. They get rid of garbage without adding to already stressed landfills and with the added benefit of contributing electricity to the power grid.
Burning trash and keeping the car clean: what do you think of those "waste-to-energy" plants used by cities to generate power?
The media's tendency toward excess and sensationalism makes this newfound recognition of religion's relevance something of a mixed blessing. But even on the opposite end of the spectrum, the fear of religion exhibited by Communist China's government-dominated media still highlights the significance of faith.
Coverage of Pope's passing highlights religion's relevance
Still, even before September 11, tourism was a mixed blessing for the economies and environments of developing nations.
The occidental tourist: hospitality has been a universal human virtue. Today travelers themselves have an equally important moral obligation to the people and places they visit. (culture in context)
16 roundtable panel described as "a rollercoaster year," "a mixed blessing," and "unpredictable."
REW hosts roundtable on 2000 'rollercoaster'
Although the staff may be protecting the hospital from providing excessive indigent care, the action is a mixed blessing, in that it also may deny the hospitals these partially funded patients.
Stakeholder strategies for the physician executive
One of the things that Mary and Elizabeth's stories can do is to help us move more deeply into an incarnational spirituality, which is one where God and Jesus' spirit are found right in the midst of our very messy human situations that are not all joy and delight but are always a mixed blessing. Where is God?
The Way in the manger