pain in the ass
124
9.2
- idiom
- /peɪn ɪn ði æs/
- Offensive
- I find his constant questions to be a real pain in the ass during meetings.
- a real pain in the ass
- a royal pain in the ass
- kids are a pain in the ass
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Watch on YouTubeAnd growing up, my dad thought I was sort of a pain in the ass.
- And growing up, my dad thought I was sort of a pain in the ass.
- And we all know at the end of the holidays, returns are always a pain in the ass, whether it's stuff or people.
- But The thing is though, is that swapping these tokens was a massive pain in the ass.
- And there's plenty of people in the celebrity interview world that are a pain in the arse to deal with.
- But what it did teach you was to be thoughtful in your editing because it was such a pain in the ass to undo it.
Examples
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I know it's a pain in the ass.
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That can be a real pain in the ass, can't it?
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But what you do see quite often is just a pain in the ass attention to detail, right?
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But it's the pain in the ass of having basically a sales team.
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Because more often than not, the process could be a pain in the ass and, and like, not a great experience sometimes.
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No, you seem like a pain in the ass.
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His kids are a pain in the ass.
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Simply put, he was a pain in the ass to work for.
Fiction book (1999) -
The police have been a pain in the ass lately.
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A lot of guys warned me you were a pain in the ass.
Synonyms
258
3.0
Something that causes annoyance or trouble
62
3.6
A person or thing that annoys others and causes trouble
43
2.1
A thing that causes trouble or annoyance
35
7.2
A person or thing that often causes trouble
32
2.1
A person who keeps bothering others
25
3.2
A person or thing that bothers you
21
6.3
Something small that annoys you more than it annoys most people
19
6.3
A person or thing that keeps causing trouble for someone
15
6.0
Something that causes discomfort or annoyance, like dust and some cleaners
14
9.9
A rude or foolish person who annoys other people
12
4.1
A person or thing that is annoying and causes trouble
10
9.9
A person who behaves in an annoying, rude, or foolish way
9
8.0
A very annoying person or thing that causes trouble
1
7.4
Something that causes trouble or makes people annoyed
1
7.0
Something that keeps causing you trouble or worry
1
8.6
A small problem that keeps annoying someone
1
6.5
A person who annoys others by repeating small actions
1
9.3
Something that causes annoyance or trouble
1
9.5
A person who often annoys or causes trouble
Someone or something that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance
A person or thing that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance for someone
A person who causes trouble and is hard to deal with
A very annoying person who acts rudely to others
Antonyms
How Annoying
- Offensive
124
9.2
- Informal
12
4.1
- Informal
1
7.4
62
3.6
25
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'pain' (a nuisance) + locative 'in the ass' transparently suggest something that causes trouble or annoyance, so a learner who knows the senses of the parts can plausibly infer the overall meaning. However, the phrase is a fixed, vulgar idiom and relies on a metaphorical locative extension, so the exact pragmatic force and appropriateness are not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom pain in the ass paints a clear picture: a pain in your ass that you cannot ignore and that makes even small tasks much harder. So people use it for 'a very annoying person or thing'.