thorn in someone's side

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

thorn in someone's side (plural thorns in someone's side)

1. (idiomatic) A persistent annoyance.
   • 2014, Jacob Steinberg, "Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals", The Guardian, 9 March 2014:

     All the billions in the world and Manchester City still cannot rid themselves of the most persistent thorn in their side.

Synonyms

• thorn in the flesh

Translations

thorn in someone's side

• Czech: trn v oku
• Finnish: piikki lihassa
• French: épine dans le pied f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: ein Dorn im Auge (de)
• Italian: spina nel fianco
• Romanian: (cu) sula în coaste
• Russian: (leucoma on the eye) бельмо́ на глазу́ n (belʹmó na glazú), (bone in the throat) кость в го́рле f (kostʹ v górle)