Idiom
a millstone around your neck
Meaning
A heavy, inescapable burden or responsibility that drags you down.
Examples
“The mortgage became a millstone around his neck.”
“The failing branch was a millstone around the company's neck, draining resources the rest of the business badly needed.”
“What had begun as a proud family estate became a millstone around her neck, its endless repairs and taxes swallowing every spare hour and pound until keeping it felt less like an inheritance than a sentence.”
Examples
simple
“The mortgage became a millstone around his neck.”
contextual
“The failing branch was a millstone around the company's neck, draining resources the rest of the business badly needed.”
complex
“What had begun as a proud family estate became a millstone around her neck, its endless repairs and taxes swallowing every spare hour and pound until keeping it felt less like an inheritance than a sentence.”
Origin
The image is from a stern warning of Jesus in Matthew 18:6: whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in him to stumble would be better off with a great millstone hung around his neck and drowned in the depths of the sea.
A millstone was the massive circular stone used to grind grain — among the heaviest objects in ordinary life — so the picture is of a weight that guarantees you sink without hope of surfacing.
Detached from the warning, a millstone around your neck in English is any crushing burden you cannot shake off: a ruinous debt, a hopeless commitment, a mistake or dependant that weighs on you and pulls you steadily under.
Stories
The Life & Teachings of Jesus · See all Biblical origin
The Gospels and the Sermon on the Mount.
the salt of the earth — Good, honest, dependable people who lack pretension.
a wolf in sheep's clothing — A dangerous or hostile person who hides behind a harmless, friendly appearance.
cast the first stone — To act self-righteously in accusing another person, believing oneself to be blameless.
go the extra mile — To make an extra effort; to do a particularly good job.
turn the other cheek — To accept punishment or injury without retaliating.
the blind leading the blind — A situation in which someone incompetent is guiding others who are equally incompetent.
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated