# person from Porlock

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/person-from-porlock
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

One whose inconvenient interruption prevents the completion of something important.

## Examples

- My neighbor is a person from Porlock who interrupts my work every day.
- I was finally finishing my report when my chatty colleague arrived, acting like a true person from Porlock.
- Just as the poet reached the height of his inspiration, a persistent person from Porlock arrived at the door, shattering his focus and ending the creative flow.

## Origin

In reference to an unwelcome visitor described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as interrupting him during his composition of the poem Kubla Khan in 1797, and preventing its completion.

---

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.