monkey on one's back

monkey on one's back
a) An addiction, especially to narcotic drugs.

Prines balladeering also includes social comment, as in Sam Stone, a song about a veteran returning from "the conflict overseas with a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back."

b) A state of persistent distress or worry or the cause of such a state.

"Es got th monkey on is back ower this letter job," said the father secretly to me.

Syn: Chinaman on ones back

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • monkey on one's back — cvb sts idi monkey on one s back, Slang. a) an addiction to a drug b) a burdensome problem, situation, or responsibility …   From formal English to slang

  • monkey on one's back — {n. phr.}, {informal} An unsolved or nagging problem. * / My math course is a real monkey on my back, Jack complained./ Compare: ALBATROSS AROUND ONE S NECK, MILLSTONE AROUND ONE S NECK …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • monkey on one's back — {n. phr.}, {informal} An unsolved or nagging problem. * / My math course is a real monkey on my back, Jack complained./ Compare: ALBATROSS AROUND ONE S NECK, MILLSTONE AROUND ONE S NECK …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • monkey\ on\ one's\ back — n. phr. informal An unsolved or nagging problem. My math course is a real monkey on my back, Jack complained. Compare: albatross around one s neck, millstone around one s neck …   Словарь американских идиом

  • have a monkey on one's back — (US sl) To be addicted to drugs • • • Main Entry: ↑monkey …   Useful english dictionary

  • Monkey on one's back — any obsession, compulsion, or addiction, seen as a burden, as a compulsion to work or an addiction to drugs …   Dictionary of Australian slang

  • monkey on one's back — Australian Slang any obsession, compulsion, or addiction, seen as a burden, as a compulsion to work or an addiction to drugs …   English dialects glossary

  • have a monkey on one’s back — tv. to have a drug addiction. (Drugs. Have got can replace have.) □ Gert has a monkey on her back. □ Do you think she wants to have a monkey on her back? …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • a monkey on one's back — informal a burdensome problem. → monkey …   English new terms dictionary

  • a monkey on one's back — informal a burdensome problem ■ a dependence on drugs …   Useful english dictionary

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