ghost at the feast

noun

A presence that mars one's enjoyment by causing guilt or reviving unwelcome memories.

Similar
spectre at the feast
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Meanings

nounghost at the feast (plural ghosts at the feast)

plural ghosts at the feast

  1. idiomaticA presence that mars one's enjoyment by causing guilt or reviving unwelcome memories.

    Synonyms: spectre at the feast

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA presence that mars one's enjoyment by causing guilt or reviving unwelcome memories.

Similar
spectre at the feast

Origin

After Banquo in Shakespeare's Macbeth (1606); Macbeth murders Banquo, whose mutilated body subsequently appears at a feast as a ghost, unseen by all but Macbeth.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ghost at the feast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghost%20at%20the%20feast

MLA

“ghost at the feast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghost%20at%20the%20feast. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ghost at the feast,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghost%20at%20the%20feast.

Source: ghost at the feast on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.