Meanings
nounsour note (plural sour notes)
plural sour notes
- idiomaticA negative aspect to something mostly positive.
One sour note was the withdrawal of Rosicky, who suffered concussion after a heavy collision.
2011 March 2, Chris Whyatt, “Arsenal 5 - 0 Leyton Orient”, in BBC1 more example
They had a respectful interaction, not a sour note between them, but they never palled around outside of work.
2019, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, Sex and the City and Us, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 94
Cite this entry
APA
sour note. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sour%20note
MLA
“sour note.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sour%20note. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sour note,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sour%20note.
Source: sour note on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.