thorn in the flesh
1
7.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
espina en el costado
- I have a word for them: REPENT, for you are not so holy that God had to give you a thorn in the flesh.
Examples
-
I Might Have Been Wrong About Paul's Thorn in the Flesh
Blog text (12) -
He was a... thorn in the flesh.
-
What was Paul's "thorn in the flesh?"
Blog text (12) -
2 Cor 12:7-10 says that Paul had a thorn in the flesh that he begged God to remove.
Blog text (5) -
Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was not "a messenger from Satan" (2 Cor. 12:7) but the natural working of his inner animal cry, "me, me!"
Academic text (1998) -
The long commute to work has become a thorn in the flesh for her, causing daily frustration.
-
Managing the paperwork is a thorn in the flesh for small business owners trying to focus on growth.
-
His tendency to procrastinate became a thorn in the flesh during crucial project deadlines.
Synonyms
418
3.0
Something that causes annoyance or trouble
109
9.2
A person or thing that is very annoying and difficult to deal with
62
3.6
A person or thing that annoys others and causes trouble
43
7.2
A person or thing that often causes trouble
29
2.1
A thing that causes trouble or annoyance
21
3.2
A person or thing that bothers you
11
4.1
A person or thing that is annoying and causes trouble
10
7.4
A thing that causes a lot of trouble for someone
8
8.0
A very annoying person or thing that causes trouble
6
8.4
A heavy problem that stays and keeps causing worry or trouble
4
7.8
A person or thing that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance for someone
1
6.3
A person or thing that keeps causing trouble for someone
1
7.4
Something that causes trouble or makes people annoyed
A small problem that keeps annoying someone
A small problem that keeps annoying you
Something that causes annoyance or trouble
Antonyms
How Annoying
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes a vivid, cross-linguistic image—a literal thorn in flesh causing ongoing pain—so a learner who knows 'thorn' and 'flesh' can likely infer it refers to something causing persistent pain or annoyance. However, the meaning is a conventionalized metaphorical extension rather than a strictly literal composition, so the exact idiomatic sense ('a recurring source of trouble') may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Thorn in the flesh comes from the Bible, where Paul said he had a thorn in his flesh — a small sharp thing that kept hurting him. So the picture of a tiny sharp thorn that keeps hurting explains why the phrase means 'a constant problem that keeps bothering you'.