pain in the neck

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pain in the neck

Where it comes from

First attested in the 1920s.

noun pains in the neck

idiomatic, slang Someone or something which is annoying, irritating or inconvenient. Got to know McTodd, found he wasn’t coming to the castle, and came down instead of him, same as me. Only he got there first, damn him! Wouldn’t that give you a pain in the neck!”
Similar: pain in the ass, pain in the butt, pest, nuisance

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MLA

"pain in the neck." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pain%20in%20the%20neck. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pain in the neck. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pain%20in%20the%20neck

Chicago

"pain in the neck." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pain%20in%20the%20neck.

BibTeX

@misc{pain_in_the_neck_2026,
  title = {pain in the neck},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pain%20in%20the%20neck},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}