Meanings
- An initial obstacle or hindrance, preventing further progress until it is dealt with.
The first paragraph of each month's article is the hardest to get out, it is like getting the first olive out of the bottle and after the first one is out the rest come easy.
1940, The Elevator Constructor, volume 37, page 262 more examples
To me the important thing was to get the first olive out of the bottle. Once we got the first debate on, whether it was a debate or a “Face the Nation” or “Meet the Press” kind of program, this did not trouble me.
1961, Columbia Broadcasting System, “Comments of Senator John O. Pastore”, in Inc.Now that Great Canadian have fished the first olive out of the bottle, Cities Services, Shell and Can-Amera all wanted development permits and were either applying for permission or countering someone else's application.
1963, Engineering and Contract Record, volume 76, page 125Synonyms: first olive out of the jar
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn initial obstacle or hindrance, preventing further progress until it is dealt with.
Cite this entry
first olive out of the bottle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20olive%20out%20of%20the%20bottle
“first olive out of the bottle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20olive%20out%20of%20the%20bottle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “first olive out of the bottle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20olive%20out%20of%20the%20bottle.
Source: first olive out of the bottle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.