pain in the neck
Someone really irritating
A pain in the neck is someone or something persistently annoying or troublesome: My little brother is such a pain in the neck.
The phrase is a mild alternative to the cruder pain in the ass.
It suggests ongoing irritation rather than a single annoyance—the kind of problem that won't go away and wears on your patience.
- annoyanceState of being bothered
- nuisanceCause of aggravation
- botherTo annoy or disturb
- pestHarmful creature or nag
- killjoyOne who dampens merriment
irritation · headache · thorn · thorn in one's side · aggravation · buzzkill · hassle · fly in the ointment · gadfly · tough customer · affliction · bugbear · nudnik · wet blanket · crick · sore spot · vexation · plague
- body idiomsheart of gold, heart of stone, cold heart, warm heart, soft heart