pain in the ass
109
9.2
- idiom
- /peɪn ɪn ði æs/
- Offensive
:
coñazo (vulgar, España)
- 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
And 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
-
I know it's a pain in the ass.
-
That can be a real pain in the ass, can't it?
-
But what you do see quite often is just a pain in the ass attention to detail, right?
-
But it's the pain in the ass of having basically a sales team.
-
Because more often than not, the process could be a pain in the ass and, and like, not a great experience sometimes.
-
No, you seem like a pain in the ass.
-
His kids are a pain in the ass.
-
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.
-
A lot of guys warned me you were a pain in the ass.
Synonyms
418
3.0
Something that causes annoyance or trouble
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
27
2.1
A person who keeps bothering others
21
3.2
A person or thing that bothers you
19
6.3
Something small that annoys you more than it annoys most people
15
6.0
Something that causes discomfort or annoyance, like dust and some cleaners
11
9.9
A person who behaves in an annoying, rude, or foolish way
11
4.1
A person or thing that is annoying and causes trouble
8
8.0
A very annoying person or thing that causes trouble
7
9.9
A rude or foolish person who annoys other people
4
7.8
A person or thing that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance for someone
2
9.5
A person who often annoys or causes trouble
1
7.4
Something that causes trouble or makes people annoyed
1
6.3
A person or thing that keeps causing trouble for someone
1
6.5
A person who annoys others by repeating small actions
1
7.0
Something that keeps causing you trouble or worry
1
9.6
A person who causes trouble and is hard to deal with
Someone or something that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance
A small problem that keeps annoying someone
Something that causes annoyance or trouble
A very annoying person who acts rudely to others
Antonyms
How Annoying
- Offensive
109
9.2
- Informal
11
4.1
- Informal
1
7.4
62
3.6
21
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'.