How to Use a thorn in the/someone's flesh/side in a Sentence
a thorn in the/someone's flesh/side
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Gallaher has been a thorn in the side of the village for years.
—Corrinne Hess, Journal Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2023
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Sturges has been a thorn in the side of Crosby and Judd during recent public meetings.
—Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 30 Nov. 2022
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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
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The world’s most admirable NGOs are a thorn in the side of authoritarians.
—Benny Avni, WSJ, 28 Oct. 2021
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As a musician, he’s always been a thorn in the side of mainstream country music.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2023
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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