english
                    
                    
                    
                        1
                           general:: 
                           Also, pain in the ass or butt. A source of annoyance, a nuisance, as in Joan is a real pain in the neck, with her constant complaining, or Jack told his brother to stop being a pain in the ass. The first of these colloquial expressions dates from about 1900 and originated as a euphemism for the two less polite variants.
                           
                           
                           
                           
                        
    
                       
                    
                        
                        
                        
                    
 
                    
                        American Heritage Idioms
                    
                    
                    
                        2
                           general:: 
                           Phrase(s): a pain in the neck  Fig. a bother; an annoyance.  •  This assignment is a pain in the neck.  •  Your little brother is a pain in the neck.
                           
                           
                           
                           
                        
    
                       
                    
                        
                        
                        
                    
 
                    
                        McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs