Idiom
Chinese water torture
Meaning
Any repeated irritation that builds to deliver cumulative damage.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The constant dripping sound is like Chinese water torture.”
“Listening to my neighbor's loud music every single night feels like Chinese water torture.”
“The relentless, repetitive nature of the bureaucratic process became a form of Chinese water torture that slowly eroded his resolve.”
Examples
simple
“The constant dripping sound is like Chinese water torture.”
contextual
“Listening to my neighbor's loud music every single night feels like Chinese water torture.”
complex
“The relentless, repetitive nature of the bureaucratic process became a form of Chinese water torture that slowly eroded his resolve.”
Key words
Related idioms
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