pain in the neck

American  

idiom

1. Informal. an annoying or troublesome person, process, or thing.

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pain in the neck More Idioms  

1. Also,. A source of annoyance, a nuisance, as in Joan is a real pain in the neck, with her constant complaining, or Jack told his brother to stop being a pain in the ass. The first of these colloquial expressions dates from about 1900 and originated as a euphemism for the two less polite variants.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pain in the neck

This isn’t merely a pain in the neck for Mr. Mandelson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

Dr. Sollmann pointed out that non-invasive treatment options that directly target the site of pain in the neck muscles could be highly effective and safer than systemic drugs.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 29, 2023

It came into being in 1917, when Congress grew weary of having to vote on every proposed bond issuance, which it considered a pain in the neck.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023

"She is the mother that everybody loves, even though she's a pain in the neck," Harris told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1998.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2022

He used to think I was a real pain in the neck, and the feeling was mutual.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank