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Glite Dictionary
nails on a chalkboard

nails on a chalkboard

2 7.4
A sharp high sound that hurts your ears
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sonido desagradable
  • It's like nails on a chalkboard.
  • nails on a chalkboard sound

Being with someone who's in their pain when you're emotionally unavailable feels like this nails on a chalkboard.

Examples

  • I was at my desk glancing at an IEP needing revision soon when I heard words that sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard to me: "I haven't had my medicine today!"

    Blog text (28)

  • However, the pro-Putin line at the end was like nails on a chalkboard.

    Blog text (19)

  • This is like nails on a chalkboard.

    Bernie (2012)

  • The tone of his voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

    Blog text (27)

  • I can't stand his voice; it's like nails on a chalkboard to me.

    Blog text (2)

  • It's like nails on a chalkboard when someone faults me for being right but not fitting with what they think they know about the time.

    Blog text (7)

  • Listening to him recite his best-learned Spanish like a first-semester Spanish 101 student is just like nails on a chalkboard.

    Blog text (31)

  • Hearing her constant complaining feels like nails on a chalkboard to me.

  • The sound of the fork scraping against the plate was like nails on a chalkboard.

  • His high-pitched laughter was as grating as nails on a chalkboard.

Synonyms

scratching
vsnails on a chalkboard
33 2.1

A harsh scraping sound when two hard or rough things rub together

is a high thin screech that feels more painful or irritating
scratch
vsnails on a chalkboard
20 1.2

A harsh scraping sound, for example from branches or a pen

is a very high sharp screech that causes strong physical discomfort
scrape
vsnails on a chalkboard
9 3.2

A harsh, rough sound made when one thing rubs another

is a higher pitched screech provoking intense irritation rather than general grating
scraping
vsnails on a chalkboard
5 2.3

A harsh sound made when one thing rubs another

is an especially high pitched screech that causes strong discomfort

Antonyms

harmony
38 2.8

A combination of musical notes that sound pleasant together

How Unpleasant

nails on a chalkboard
  • Informal
2 7.4
screeching
58 3.3
grating
1 6.2
annoying
392 1.0

Surface Forms

nails on a chalkboard singular
nails on chalkboard singular

Morphology

nail + on + a + chalkboard

The meaning is directly inferable by picturing fingernails scraping a chalkboard: the literal combination of 'nails' + 'on' + 'chalkboard' evokes the characteristic high-pitched, unpleasant screech. This sensory, causal relation is compositionally transparent and therefore likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Nails on a chalkboard comes from the horrible, high sound when someone scrapes nails across a chalkboard, a sudden scratch that makes people feel very uncomfortable. So the phrase is used for any sound or situation that is 'extremely unpleasant'.