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

He's a top physiotherapist and knows the wrong pillow can be a pain in the neck.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

For everyone else they can turn into a pain in the neck, or worse.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

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

Some kids said no, but a lot of kids said yes because they figured Howard was going to be a pain in the neck.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson