Meaning

"A pain in the ass" is something or someone very annoying: a slow printer, endless paperwork, a neighbor who complains about everything. You'll hear it constantly in American movies, TV and between friends. "Ass" is a vulgar word for your bottom, so the phrase is vulgar too. The picture is crude on purpose: the annoyance is so bad you feel it physically.

Learn to recognize it, and be careful about saying it. Never use it at work, in a job interview, with customers, with strangers, with older people or with anyone you want to impress. Calling a person "a pain in the ass" is an insult. For all of those situations, you have clean choices that mean the same thing: "a pain in the neck", "a pain" on its own, "a hassle", or "really annoying". Those are the ones to practice out loud.

In a conversation

EricMia
  1. Eric
  2. Mia
  3. Eric
  4. Mia
  5. Eric
  6. Mia

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

  1. Vulgar. Friends only.

  2. Clean version. Safe at work.

  3. Clean version. Safe anywhere.

  4. Polite and common at work.

  5. Neutral. Safe anywhere.

Check yourself

1In which situation could you say "a pain in the ass"?
2Eric is on a work call. Which is the best way to say the form is annoying?

Practice · 3 min

Listen, then say the clean versions. These are the ones to use out loud at work and with people you don't know well.

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.