A thorn in my butt

This was overheard in a work conversation: “this has been a thorn in my butt for years now.” It is a congruent conflation of “thorn in my side” and “pain in the butt”, both meaning something or someone is a source of annoyance or trouble. “A thorn in my paw” might also be in play here. Mixing body parts with thorns seems like a common thing – see past malaphors “thorn in the eye”, “thorn in the heel”, “thorn in the foot”. https://malaphors.com/2023/09/15/defense-has-been-a-thorn-in-the-seahawks-heel-today/ https://malaphors.com/2022/01/22/hes-definitely-a-thorn-in-their-eye/ https://malaphors.com/2013/03/21/its-a-thorn-in-the-foot/ A big thank you to Donna Doblick for sharing this one.

Did you enjoy this one? Why not get a malaphor book (or two) as stocking stuffers this holiday season? They fit in a standard stocking and are cheap – Get them on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205