How to Use a thorn in the/someone's flesh/side in a Sentence

a thorn in the/someone's flesh/side

idiom
Definition of a thorn in the/someone's flesh/sidenext
  • Gallaher has been a thorn in the side of the village for years.
    — Corrinne Hess, Journal Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2023
  • Sturges has been a thorn in the side of Crosby and Judd during recent public meetings.
    — Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 30 Nov. 2022
  • The rule has been a thorn in the side of defendants -- including record labels and major artists -- for decades.
    — Jem Aswad, chicagotribune.com, 5 Oct. 2020
  • The world’s most admirable NGOs are a thorn in the side of authoritarians.
    — Benny Avni, WSJ, 28 Oct. 2021
  • As a musician, he’s always been a thorn in the side of mainstream country music.
    — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2023
  • Surging abuse of the drug has become a thorn in the side of the Saudi government, which has taken steps to curb smuggling efforts.
    — Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2022
  • Alinejad is a journalist and dissident with a large online following who has long been a thorn in the side of the regime.
    — Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Guerrero’s absence from the game was deeply felt, like a thorn in the side of an otherwise glorious victory.
    — Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2022
  • Presiding over it all will be Justice Engoron, a charismatic and eccentric judge who has been a thorn in the side of Mr. Trump and his lawyers for more than a year.
    — William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Sinema has already been a key holdout on parts of the president's domestic agenda -- a thorn in the side of progressives.
    — Rachel Scott, ABC News, 9 Dec. 2022
  • Inflation has been a thorn in the side of the Fed for more than two years now, but Hatzius believes the central bank may have defeated its greatest enemy.
    — Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2023
  • The concept of meme stocks has been a thorn in the side of short sellers — traders who bet that stocks will fall by borrowing shares and selling them high with the belief that they can be repurchased later at a lower cost.
    — Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Bring in regional fans Games populated almost entirely by foreign tourists have long been a thorn in the side of locals.
    — Adam Minter, The Mercury News, 12 July 2024
  • Netflix — which has never been willing to give their films a traditional theatrical release — has long been a thorn in the side of theater owners.
    — Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2022
  • Johnson did lose 93 Republican votes, and the approach landed him in hot water with conservatives and deficit hawks who have been a thorn in the side of GOP leaders for nearly a decade.
    — Marianna Sotomayor, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
  • As global companies ramp up efforts to bring their staff back to the office, experts have warned there is a growing wave of resentment that could prove a thorn in the side of company cultures for years to come.
    — Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2023
  • From its launch in 2021, Hindutva Watch has been a thorn in the side of Hindu nationalists who have been provoking anti-Muslim sentiment for years.
    — Parth M.n., Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2023
  • While the queen’s steady consistency was largely considered a boon for the monarchy, her children and grandchildren’s lives have occasionally been a thorn in the side of monarchists.
    — Rachel Elbaum, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Adebayo’s averages of 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and about a steal and block per game are modest in comparison to Embiid, but the Heat big man has historically been a thorn in the side of the Knicks in the playoffs.
    — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2024
  • Sign up These protests are nothing new, as political correctness has been a thorn in the side of comedians of every generation.
    — Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week Us, theweek, 16 May 2024
  • The Fed may be looking to pause or even reverse interest rate hikes in the next few months, given inflation is falling and the jobs market, which has been a thorn in the side of battling high inflation, is finally weakening.
    — Q.ai - Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, Forbes, 17 July 2023
  • Key elements of the upgrade include content aiming to keep consumers on the site for longer, as well as improved guidance on aspects like fit, in a drive to reduce return rates, which have become a thorn in the side for e-commerce players.
    — Alex Wynne, WWD, 27 June 2024
  • Inside, angry protesters ransacked spaces where justices discuss cases and decisions, a deeply symbolic target as the court was seen as a thorn in the side of Mr. Bolsonaro.
    — Whitney Eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Jan. 2023
  • The California Theatre building has been a thorn in the side of downtown developers for years and recently an armed security team went in to clear the site of its homeless population.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2022
  • In an elegant argument, laid out over six pages, Huang unequivocally proved the sensitivity conjecture, a thorn in the side of computer scientists for decades.
    — Stephen Ornes, Discover Magazine, 23 Dec. 2019
  • North Korea’s nuclear program has been a thorn in the side of five American presidents, sometimes approaching crisis levels, sometimes receding to secondary importance.
    — Sue Mi Terry, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2021
  • Congressional tech hearings are typically antagonistic, especially those involving social media, ever a thorn in the side of federal lawmakers.
    — Scott Nover, Quartz, 16 May 2023
  • Since then, the Catalan separatists have been a thorn in the side of every other political group in Spain, especially the Sánchez administration, in office since only last June.
    — Omar G. Encarnación, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a thorn in the/someone's flesh/side.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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