A pain in the neck is a person or thing that is very annoying. It can describe both someone who irritates you and a tiresome task. It sounds informal but not rude.
When would you say a pain in the neck?
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be a (real) pain in the neck; it's a pain in the neck to + verb
- Filling in these expense forms every month is a real pain in the neck.
- My flatmate never washes his dishes, which makes him a pain in the neck to live with.
- It's a pain in the neck to find parking near the station on a weekday.
What changed
First versionMy little brother is a pain in my neck when I'm trying to study.
RevisionMy little brother is a pain in the neck when I'm trying to study.
The idiom uses the neck, even when you are the one being annoyed. Learners often put in my, following the logic “he bothers me”, but the form is fixed: a pain in the neck. The sentence already makes it clear who is being annoyed.
Headache can also be figurative, but it usually means a difficult problem rather than an annoying person: Finding a flat in London is a real headache. A pain in the neck works for both people and tasks. In an essay, write annoying or a nuisance instead.
Your turn
My brother borrows my charger every day and never gives it back. He's such a ___.
Show the answer
pain in the neck — The brother annoys the speaker with small, constant habits, and the idiom for that is a pain in the neck. Pain in the head is not an English idiom: for a difficult problem, English says a headache.
Write about a household chore you can't stand. Name it and explain why it annoys you.
Ironing shirts is a pain in the neck because I always make new creases while removing the old ones.
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