stick in one's craw, to
stick in one's craw
Also, stick in one's throat.
1. Be unable to say something, as in I meant to apologize but the words stuck in my craw. [Early 1600s]
2. Be so offensive that one can't tolerate it, as in That obscene art exhibit stuck in my throat. [Late 1600s]
See also: craw, stick
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
stick in (one's) craw
To cause one to feel abiding discontent and resentment.
See also: craw, stick
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
stick in one's craw, to
To be so offensive or disagreeable that one cannot swallow it. This expression is the modern version of stick in one’s gizzard, gullet, or crop, all referring to portions of an animal’s digestive system. Their figurative use dates from the late seventeenth century. Jonathan Swift recorded one in Polite Conversation (1738): “Don’t let that stick in your gizzard.” Dickens used still another in a letter in 1843: “Your dedication to Peel stuck in my throat.” More recently Martin Cruz Smith wrote, “Doesn’t it stick in your craw that you got absolutely nowhere in the investigation?” (Wolves Eat Dogs, 2004).
See also: stick
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- have words stick in throat
- have (one's) words stick in (one's) throat
- words stick in (one's) throat
- craw
- have (something) stick in (one's) craw
- have stick in craw
- stick in (one's) craw
- stick in craw
- stick in one's craw
- stick in your craw