thorn in your side

Meaning

1. 1nounidiomfigurative

   A person or thing that causes a continuing annoyance or difficulty for someone.

   Grammar: Used after an or be, and the possessive agrees with the person: a thorn in my side, in her side.

   Patterns

   • be a thorn in someone's side
   • remain a thorn in someone's side

   The noisy neighbor has been a thorn in our side since the day we moved in.

   Rising prices remain a thorn in the government's side.

   That small rival company was a thorn in the giant's side for years.

Common combinations

a constant thorn in your side

The leaky roof is a constant thorn in my side.

a thorn in the side of the government

The newspaper has been a thorn in the side of the government for years.

remain a thorn in the side

Late payments remain a thorn in the side of small shops.

become a thorn in your side

A small mistake can become a thorn in your side if you ignore it.

a long-standing thorn in the side

The old land dispute was a long-standing thorn in the side of both families.

Synonyms and how they differ

nuisance

A nuisance is a plain annoyance and need not last long, while a thorn in your side keeps coming back.

pest

Pest is informal and mostly describes an annoying person, often in a lighter, more teasing way.

bane

Bane is stronger and more literary, suggesting something that spoils life or ruins things.

irritant

Irritant is more formal and clinical, and lacks the sense of a long, personal struggle.

Opposites

Word family

thorn noun

a sharp point on a stem

thorny adjective

full of thorns, or difficult to handle

thornless adjective

having no thorns

thorn in the flesh noun

a similar older idiom meaning a lasting trouble

Commonly confused: thorn in your side or thorn in your flesh?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “thorn in your side”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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