Idiom
albatross around one's neck
Meaning
A characteristic, possession, associate, or previous deed that hinders one's ability to succeed.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That old debt is an albatross around my neck.”
“This heavy secret is an albatross around her neck.”
“His past mistake became an albatross around his neck, making it difficult for him to get a new job.”
“The expensive sports car you bought is an albatross around your neck because the monthly repairs cost more than your rent.”
“A bad reputation from high school can be an albatross around your neck when you try to make new friends in a small town.”
“The failing company he inherited proved to be an albatross around his neck, preventing him from pursuing his own creative ambitions.”
Examples
simple
“That old debt is an albatross around my neck.”
“This heavy secret is an albatross around her neck.”
contextual
“His past mistake became an albatross around his neck, making it difficult for him to get a new job.”
“The expensive sports car you bought is an albatross around your neck because the monthly repairs cost more than your rent.”
“A bad reputation from high school can be an albatross around your neck when you try to make new friends in a small town.”
complex
“The failing company he inherited proved to be an albatross around his neck, preventing him from pursuing his own creative ambitions.”
Origin
The phrase originates in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In the narrative, a sailor shoots a sea bird, an act which is perceived by his crewmates as the cause of a subsequent run of misfortune. As a mark of his guilt and a public reminder of the resulting curse, the crew forces the mariner to wear the carcass of the dead bird suspended from his neck.
Key words
Related idioms
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