- Home
- Idioms
- monkey on one's back
monkey on one's back
monkey on one's back
1. Drug addiction, as in He'd had a monkey on his back for at least two years. [Slang; first half of 1900s]
2. A vexing problem or burden, as in This project has proved to be a monkey on my back-there seems to be no end to it. Both usages allude to being unable to shake off the animal from one's back.
monkey on one's back
1. An addiction to a drug.
2. An object of persistent worry or obsession.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Beti | | - | Macedonian |
Aureliana | | - | Italian, Ancient Roman |
Iseult | | i-SOOLT (English), i-ZOOLT (English), EE-səlt (English) | Arthurian Romance |
Emel | | - | Turkish |
Nona (2) | | - | English, Ancient Roman (Rare) |
Aiman | | - | Kazakh |