歇后语。比喻有苦难言。黄连，药名，味苦。 周而复 《上海的早晨》第三部四七：“ 冯永祥 要把 徐义德 紧紧抓在自己手里，既要提拔 徐义德 ，又不能让 徐义德 超过自己，必要时，挖他一点墙脚，叫他哑巴吃黄连，有苦说不出。”

1.a dumb person taking a dose of bitter medicine -- suffering humiliation, insults, etc.; a mute victim; inarticulate misery; in silence to suffer injury, damages, etc.; like a dumb man in silence, for to speak out would be to one's disadvantage, embarrassment or would even lead to the loss of face, etc.; swallow a bitter pill in silence; like a dumb person tasting the rhizome of Chinese goldthread; (be compelled to) suffer in silence