To have a thorn in your side means to have a person or problem that causes constant annoyance or trouble and just doesn't seem to go away.
The phrase comes from the painful experience of having a thorn stuck in your skin. Because it keeps hurting until it is removed, the image became a way to describe ongoing irritation.
The phrase comes from the painful experience of having a thorn stuck in your skin. Because it keeps hurting until it is removed, the image became a way to describe ongoing irritation.
That reporting system has been a thorn in my side for months, it keeps breaking right when I need to use it.