pain in the neck

Idioms

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

You and I might translate that as: "The saga over Angela's tax was a total pain in the neck, but it's given us the excuse to make some of the changes we fancied anyway."

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025

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

“The way I look at our relationship … I know sometimes we’re like the big brother that’s a pain in the neck and overbearing,” Biden said at the time.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2023

“Is this why you’ve been a pain in the neck all afternoon?”

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023