Meanings
- A single sexual encounter can lead to a lifetime of disease and treatment.
But he knew better than to get his hopes up. As the old saying went: one night in Venus and a lifetime of Mercury.
[2012, Harold Anderson, Searching for Che, page 1144 more examples
An eminent physiologist, in the bad old days when Salvarsan and certain other Hg compounds were the only known remedy for venereal diseases, is said to have warned his students that 'One night with Venus may mean a lifetime with Mercury'.
[1976, Jenifer M. Baker, Marine ecology and oil pollution, page 13Vincent had opted for the mercury treatment, while Theo, afraid of the time involved ("One night with Venus, a lifetime with mercury')...
[1995, Claire Cooperstein, Johanna: A Novel of the Van Gogh Family, page 112Early treatments with metals (arsenic, bismuth, mercury) led to the cynical summary of syphilitic infection as 'one night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury'.
[1995, J. H. L. Playfair, Infection and immunity, page 146Many Welsh people had cause to regret the fact that, for one night of bliss with Venus, they spent a lifetime of regret with Mercury.
2005, Russell Davies, Hope and Heartbreak, page 311
Origin
From the use of mercury compounds in the treatment of venereal diseases before the discovery of antibiotics.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
one night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20night%20with%20Venus%2C%20a%20lifetime%20with%20Mercury
“one night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20night%20with%20Venus%2C%20a%20lifetime%20with%20Mercury. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “one night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20night%20with%20Venus%2C%20a%20lifetime%20with%20Mercury.
Source: one night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.