Sometimes, people or things can bother us. When something or someone is annoying, it can make us feel upset or frustrated. People often use special phrases called idioms to talk about these feelings. Idioms are sayings that have a meaning different from the words themselves. They help make talking and writing more interesting.
This article will show you 30 common idioms that describe annoying situations or people. You will learn what they mean and how to use them in sentences. Knowing these idioms can help you understand others better and explain your feelings clearly. Let’s explore some fun and useful idioms about being annoying.
Idioms for Annoying
1. Get on someone’s nerves
Meaning: To annoy or bother someone.
Samples: My little brother gets on my nerves when he keeps asking questions. / The loud music really got on my nerves.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me upset. / It bothers me a lot.
2. Drive someone crazy
Meaning: To make someone very annoyed or upset.
Samples: The buzzing fly drove me crazy during class. / His constant talking drives me crazy.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me really mad. / I can’t stand it.
3. Bug someone
Meaning: To annoy or bother someone.
Samples: Please stop bugging me while I do my homework. / That noise bugs me every time I try to sleep.
To Put it Another Way: It bothers me. / It makes me feel irritated.
4. Get under someone’s skin
Meaning: To annoy someone deeply.
Samples: Her teasing got under my skin all day. / That joke really got under his skin.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me feel upset inside. / It bothers me more than I want.
5. Rub someone the wrong way
Meaning: To annoy someone without trying.
Samples: His comments rubbed me the wrong way. / That smell rubs me the wrong way.
To Put it Another Way: It feels unpleasant. / It makes me uncomfortable.
6. Drive someone up the wall
Meaning: To make someone very angry or frustrated.
Samples: The noisy construction drove me up the wall. / Her messy room drives her parents up the wall.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me very angry. / I feel really frustrated.
7. Get on one’s wick
Meaning: To annoy or irritate someone.
Samples: His loud chewing gets on my wick. / That buzzing sound is getting on my wick.
To Put it Another Way: It really bothers me. / It makes me feel annoyed.
8. Push someone’s buttons
Meaning: To do something that annoys or angers someone.
Samples: He knows how to push my buttons when he teases me. / Stop pushing her buttons about her grades.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me mad. / It annoys me a lot.
9. Get one’s goat
Meaning: To make someone angry or annoyed.
Samples: His careless mistakes really get my goat. / That loud laugh gets my goat every time.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me upset. / It irritates me.
10. Be a pain in the neck
Meaning: To be very annoying or troublesome.
Samples: My little sister is a pain in the neck when she copies me. / Doing homework every night can be a pain in the neck.
To Put it Another Way: It’s really annoying. / It causes trouble.
11. Give someone a hard time
Meaning: To bother or annoy someone.
Samples: My friends gave me a hard time about my new haircut. / The teacher gave him a hard time for being late.
To Put it Another Way: They made things difficult for me. / It was annoying.
12. Be a thorn in someone’s side
Meaning: To be a constant source of trouble or annoyance.
Samples: That loud alarm is a thorn in my side every morning. / His bad habits are a thorn in his family’s side.
To Put it Another Way: It keeps bothering me. / It causes problems all the time.
13. Get on someone’s back
Meaning: To keep complaining or criticizing someone.
Samples: My coach got on my back about practice. / Mom gets on my back when I don’t clean my room.
To Put it Another Way: They keep nagging me. / They won’t stop telling me what to do.
14. Be a nuisance
Meaning: To be annoying or bothersome.
Samples: The flies in the kitchen are such a nuisance. / He’s a nuisance when he interrupts the class.
To Put it Another Way: It’s very annoying. / It bothers people.
15. Be on someone’s case
Meaning: To keep criticizing or bothering someone.
Samples: My parents are on my case about my grades. / The coach was on their case about being late.
To Put it Another Way: They keep telling me what to do. / They don’t stop bothering me.
16. Make someone’s blood boil
Meaning: To make someone very angry.
Samples: His rude comments made my blood boil. / The unfair rules made her blood boil.
To Put it Another Way: It made me very mad. / I felt angry inside.
17. Drive someone bananas
Meaning: To annoy or confuse someone.
Samples: The messy desk drives me bananas. / His silly jokes drove everyone bananas.
To Put it Another Way: It makes me crazy. / It’s very confusing and annoying.
18. Be a pest
Meaning: To be a small but constant annoyance.
Samples: The mosquitoes are pests in the summer. / Stop being a pest and let me finish.
To Put it Another Way: It’s a small but steady bother. / It won’t leave me alone.
19. Be a drag
Meaning: To be boring or annoying.
Samples: Waiting in a long line is such a drag. / Homework can be a drag sometimes.
To Put it Another Way: It feels boring and annoying. / It makes me feel tired.
20. Ruffle someone’s feathers
Meaning: To upset or annoy someone.
Samples: Her comments ruffled his feathers. / The noise ruffled the teacher’s feathers.
To Put it Another Way: It made me upset. / It annoyed me.
21. Be a pain
Meaning: To be annoying or troublesome.
Samples: The broken computer is a pain. / My little brother can be a pain sometimes.
To Put it Another Way: It’s very annoying. / It causes trouble.
22. Be a bother
Meaning: To cause trouble or annoyance.
Samples: Sorry to be a bother, but can you help me? / That problem was a bother all day.
To Put it Another Way: It’s a small trouble. / It annoys me a bit.
23. Be a headache
Meaning: To cause a lot of trouble or worry.
Samples: Fixing the car was a headache. / The noisy neighbors are a headache.
To Put it Another Way: It causes problems. / It makes me worry.
24. Give someone the cold shoulder
Meaning: To ignore or treat someone in a mean way.
Samples: They gave me the cold shoulder after the argument. / She gave him the cold shoulder at school.
To Put it Another Way: They ignored me. / They were not friendly.
25. Get in someone’s hair
Meaning: To bother or annoy someone by being too close or too active.
Samples: My sister gets in my hair when I’m trying to study. / The puppy gets in my hair all the time.
To Put it Another Way: It annoys me by being too close. / It bothers me a lot.
26. Be on someone’s last nerve
Meaning: To be very annoying after a long time.
Samples: The loud TV is on my last nerve. / Her complaining is on my last nerve today.
To Put it Another Way: I can’t take it anymore. / It’s really bothering me.
27. Be a pain in the butt
Meaning: To be very annoying or difficult.
Samples: That homework is a pain in the butt. / He’s being a pain in the butt again.
To Put it Another Way: It’s very annoying. / It causes trouble.
28. Get under someone’s collar
Meaning: To make someone angry or upset.
Samples: His teasing got under my collar. / The delay got under her collar.
To Put it Another Way: It made me angry. / It bothered me.
29. Be a drag on someone
Meaning: To make things harder or more annoying.
Samples: The slow computer is a drag on my work. / That problem was a drag on the whole team.
To Put it Another Way: It makes things harder. / It bothers people.
30. Be a thorn in the flesh
Meaning: To be a constant problem or annoyance.
Samples: The leaking pipe is a thorn in the flesh. / His bad habits are a thorn in the flesh.
To Put it Another Way: It keeps causing trouble. / It’s always annoying.
Find the Topics: Idioms for Annoying
Last Friday was the school dance, and Emma was very excited. But her little brother kept getting on her nerves by asking too many questions about the dance. At the party, the loud music started to drive her crazy, and she wished it would turn down.
Her friend Jake was also feeling upset because his sister was bugging him all evening to dance with her. Emma noticed that the noisy chatter was really starting to get under her skin.
Later, the teacher’s constant reminders about behavior began to rub Emma the wrong way. She felt like some of the kids were driving the teacher up the wall by not listening.
When Emma’s phone kept buzzing with messages, it really began to push her buttons. At the end of the night, Emma’s mom told her to clean up, but she felt like her mom was getting on her back too much.
Even with all the small annoyances, Emma had a good time at the dance.
Your Task:
Underline or list all 8 idioms about annoying that you find in the story above.
Answer Key
- Getting on her nerves
- Drive her crazy
- Bugging him
- Get under her skin
- Rub Emma the wrong way
- Driving the teacher up the wall
- Push her buttons
- Getting on her back
Conclusion
Idioms about annoying help us talk about feelings in a fun and clear way. They show how little things or people can bother us sometimes. By learning these phrases, you can better explain your thoughts and understand others when they share their feelings. Next time something or someone annoys you, try using these idioms to tell how you feel.
