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Glite Dictionary
to stick in one's craw

to stick in one's craw

3 9.9
To feel angry or bitter about something unfair that you cannot forget
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : no poder aceptar
  • And I think the last line is the point that sticks in my craw.
  • it really sticks in my craw
  • it just stuck in my craw

Examples

  • But his accusation stuck in my craw.

    Academic text (2007)

  • It sticks in my craw, and I don't intend to hide my feelings.

    Damien - Omen II (1978)

  • You can be sure he found it of interest, and you can be sure it stuck in his craw.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • You know what really sticks in my craw?

    In Dubious Battle (2016)

  • Some awful stories just wash over me, but this one stuck in my craw.

    Blog text (22)

  • If that sticks in your craw, I am very sorry for you.

    Blog text (3)

  • That just sticks in your craw, huh?

    Blog text (32)

  • What really sticks in my craw is you making fun of norm.

    Crackerjack (2002)

  • Complaints that poetry has lost the ordinary reader stick in my craw.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The comment he made during the meeting really sticks in my craw even now.

Synonyms

to annoy
vsto stick in one's craw
246 1.0

Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions

is more serious, causing lasting resentment and strong difficulty accepting it
to bug
vsto stick in one's craw
  • Informal
85 3.7

To annoy someone by bothering them repeatedly

is deeper and harder to accept, producing ongoing resentment rather than simple bother
to get under one's skin
vsto stick in one's craw
  • Informal
25 7.2

To annoy someone again and again so they feel bothered

is more about deep, hard to accept irritation that causes resentment
to rankle
vsto stick in one's craw
10 8.0

To continue to make someone feel angry or hurt

is a strong annoyance that is hard to accept and breeds ongoing resentment
to grate
vsto stick in one's craw
  • Informal
9 6.7

Annoy someone more and more over time

is more about being hard to accept and creating lasting resentment
to needle
vsto stick in one's craw
8 7.7

To annoy someone by teasing them repeatedly

is about something hard to accept that causes ongoing resentment rather than mere teasing
to get on someone's nerves
vsto stick in one's craw
  • Informal
7 4.9

To bother someone again and again until they feel angry

is stronger, being hard to accept and causing lasting resentment

Antonyms

to please
216 1.0

To make someone happy or satisfied

to satisfy
172 2.0

Make someone happy by meeting their need or wish

How Annoying

to stick in one's craw
  • Informal
3 9.9
to rankle
10 8.0
to eat away at
  • Informal
25 4.4
to bother
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

stick in one's craw infinitive
sticking in one's craw present participle
sticks in one's craw third person singular
stuck in one's craw past
stuck in one's craw past participle

Morphology

stick + in + one + craw

The expression relies on the rare/archaic noun 'craw' (a bird's crop or figurative stomach), which most B1 learners will not know; even if they did, the idea that something 'sticking' there produces ongoing resentment is a culture-specific metaphor. The figurative meaning 'to be very annoying or hard to accept' cannot be reliably derived from the literal meanings of 'stick', 'in', and 'craw', so the phrase is idiomatic and unpredictable to learners.

Etymology

Stick in one's craw may come from a bird image: when a piece of food sticks in the bird's craw, a throat pouch, it hurts and the bird cannot swallow, so it stays unpleasant in the mouth. That's why the phrase now means 'to be very annoying or hard to accept'.