bane of (one's) existence

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bane of (one's) existence

The source or cause of one's misfortune, unhappiness, frustration, or anxiety, usually used hyperbolically. I swear, this project is the bane of my existence. I've been working on it for months and still haven't made any real progress! Jane has been constantly annoying me all week. She's been the bane of my very existence!
See also: bane, existence, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

the bane of somebody’s ˈlife/eˈxistence

a person or thing that makes somebody’s life unpleasant or unhappy: That car is always breaking down! It’s the bane of my life. OPPOSITE: a ray of sunshine
See also: bane, existence, life, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

bane of one's existence, the

The agent of one’s ruin or misery; a thorn in the flesh. The earliest meaning of the noun bane was “murderer” and was so used in Beowulf (ca. a.d. 800). A somewhat later meaning was “poison,” which survives as part of the names of various poisonous plants, such as henbane or wolf’s bane. The current sense, an agent of ruin, dates from the late 1500s. Today it is almost always used hyperbolically, as in “The new secretary loses all my messages; she’s become the bane of my existence.”
See also: bane, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in classic literature ?
The tipping system is nothing less than a minor bane of my existence. Not that one is a grudging giver, but simply because in so many cases it is so hard to know whom to tip and what to tip him.
View in context
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It's time to pull the plug
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Then there's an online-only segment where Cantor says of Jews voting Democratic, "This has been the bane of my existence for a long time." Clearly, he means it as a joke, but Stahlherself Jewishchose to go after Cantor, asking repeatedly whether there isn't "something in the faith" that pushes Jews toward the Democratic Party.
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She was the bane of my existence. She was a social child who pushed against boundaries and wore me down with her need for company.
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She said of hairstylist Chris McMillan: "I love Chris but he's the bane of my existence because he started that damn Rachel, which was not my best look.
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"I love Chris, and he's the bane of my existence at the same time because he started that damn Rachel, which was not my best look," the actress said referring to her hairdresser, Chris McMillan.
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Ketchup and pizza are the bane of my existence," Dr.
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