Meaning & use
stick in one's craw
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Meaning
phraseidiominformalold-fashioned
To annoy or bother you for a long time because it seems unfair or hard to accept.
Grammar: The thing that annoys is the subject, and the possessive changes: it sticks in her craw.
Patterns
- something sticks in someone's craw
- it sticks in my craw that something happened
It sticks in my craw that he took credit for my work.
The unfair penalty really stuck in the coach's craw.
What sticks in her craw is that nobody ever thanked the volunteers.
Word forms
| third person singular | sticks in one's craw |
|---|---|
| past tense | stuck in one's craw |
| -ing form | sticking in one's craw |
Common combinations
- really stick in my craw
- The rude reply really stuck in my craw.
- it sticks in my craw that
- It sticks in my craw that the winner cheated.
- stick in his craw for years
- The insult stuck in his craw for years.
- the unfairness sticks in my craw
- The unfairness sticks in my craw even now.
- what sticks in my craw
- What sticks in my craw is the lack of an apology.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rankle
- It is a single word and more formal; it also means to cause lingering bitterness.
- gall
- It is a verb that sounds stronger and suggests deep irritation.
- rub the wrong way
- It describes annoying someone in general, not a slow-burning resentment.
- bug
- It is very informal and usually means a mild, short annoyance.
Word family
Commonly confused: stick in one's craw or stick in the throat?
stick in one's craw vs stick in the throat
'Stick in the throat' also means hard to accept or say, but it can also mean food that is physically stuck.
Practice
The way the manager blamed the interns still ___ in my craw.
Choose one answer.
The idiom is 'stick in one's craw'; hang, cling and sit are natural verbs but they do not form this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stick in one's craw”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.