# a crown of thorns

idiom · CEFR C1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/a-crown-of-thorns
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

An honour or position that brings suffering rather than glory.

## Examples

- The top job proved to be a crown of thorns.
- Leading the troubled charity was a crown of thorns, all blame and no budget, and few good candidates would take it.
- The premiership she had fought so long to win turned into a crown of thorns, an office that consumed her health and reputation while the crises she had inherited made real achievement all but impossible.

## Origin

The crown of thorns appears in the passion narrative, at Matthew 27:29 and John 19:2, where Roman soldiers mock Jesus as King of the Jews by plaiting thorns into a crown and forcing it onto his head. The whole force of the image lies in its contradiction: a crown is the emblem of royalty and honour, but this one is woven to wound, so the very symbol of exaltation becomes an instrument of pain and ridicule. In English a crown of thorns names any honour, title, or high office that turns out to be a source of torment — a coveted position whose prestige is inseparable from the suffering it inflicts on whoever wears it.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.