a thorn in the flesh

a thorn in the flesh

A constant or persistent cause of annoyance, frustration, or trouble. My little brother is such a thorn in the flesh—he always wants to do stuff with me, especially when I'm trying to hang out with my friends.
See also: flesh, thorn
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • be a thorn in (one's) side
  • be a thorn in your flesh/side
  • become a thorn in (one's) flesh
  • become a thorn in (one's) side
  • a thorn in (one's) side
  • a thorn in someone's side
  • a thorn in your side
  • be a thorn in (one's) flesh
  • It sucks
  • it/that sucks
References in periodicals archive
Do you have a thorn in the flesh? Ask God to give you the grace to deal with it.
Azmin , who is Economic Affairs Minister, said PKR had to be a strong party and no member should be a thorn in the flesh.
Waimiri said the numerous street urchins especially in Nairobi had become a thorn in the flesh for many noting that they too had fathers who were supposed to take care of them.
"Resistance will always remain a thorn in the flesh of Zionism and its ideology which is rooted in the perverse notion of supremacy and power," the statement added.
"The Congress encouraged him all the time when he was filing cases against our leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and when Dr Shankar Rao used the same methodology against his own party persons and cabinet colleagues, he became a thorn in the flesh and was thus dropped, she said.
PHRASES which are derived from or popularised by the King James Bible include: 'let there be light' - Gen 1:3 'turned the world upside down' - Acts 17:6 'escaped with the skin of my teeth' - Job 19:20 'the root of the matter' - Job 19:28 'be horribly afraid' - Jeremiah 2:12 'stand in awe' - Psalms 4:4 'how are the mighty fallen' - II Samuel 1:19 'killed the fatted calf' - Luke 15:27 'blessed are the peacemakers' - Matthew 5:9 'fell flat on his face' - Numbers 2:31 'a lamb to the slaughter' - Isaiah 53:7 'put words in his mouth' - Exodus 4:15 'a thorn in the flesh' - II Corinthians 12:7 'suffer little children' - Luke 18:16 'there was no room for them in the inn' - Matthew 2:7
"THERE was given to me a thorn in the flesh - I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart.
Over the next 30 years, under the doughty presidency of Marcus Binney, SAVE has become a thorn in the flesh of greedy developers, neglectful corporations and mendacious government departments.
Burns was a thorn in the flesh of Airdrie all afternoon as he ran their defence ragged.
Det Con Robert Burgoyne denied a suggestion by defence barrister Mr Anthony Palmer, QC, that the police had had a vendetta against Caine because he had been a thorn in the flesh of some officers during his work.
In the intervening period, Anand, who is now senior paediatrician at Bombay's prestigious Jaslok Hospital, has become well-known as a champion of breastfeeding--and a thorn in the flesh of the companies which produce and market alternatives.
Mr Clarke, 52, has been a thorn in the flesh of Tory Central Office in Scotland since he was forced to resign the East Lothian seat in 1986 after a smear campaign.
School fires have remained a thorn in the flesh for various institutions amid concerns of lack of capacity to contain them.
The young striker is proving to be something of a thorn in the flesh to the Merseyside team as he scored four times in the corresponding fixture last season.
LINDA PERRATT'S Rose Of America was a thorn in the flesh of punters at Ayr's additional Flat fixture yesterday.