touch a nerve

English

Alternative forms

hit a nerve, strike a nerve, touch a raw nerve

Etymology

An allusion to the sharp sensation felt when a dentist or surgeon physically disturbs an exposed nerve.

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

touch a nerve (third-person singular simple present touches a nerve, present participle touching a nerve, simple past and past participle touched a nerve)

(idiomatic) To make a remark or perform a deed which produces a strong response, especially an emotional response such as anxiety or annoyance, because it calls to mind something which has been a source of concern or embarrassment.
- 1951, "National Affairs: Right & Wrong," Time, 27 Aug.:
  Louis B. Seltzer, editor of the Cleveland Press, . . . banged out an editorial that raised uncomfortable questions about the state of the U.S. at a moment of world responsibility. His piece touched a nerve: in the following week, 1,000 people had tried to reach him by phone or written him letters or stopped him on the street to talk about it.
- 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 4, in Jeeves in the Offing:
  The austerity of my tone seemed to touch a nerve and kindle the fire that always slept in this vermilion-headed menace to the common weal, for she frowned a displeased frown and told me for heaven's sake to stop goggling like a dead halibut.
- 2007, Simon Romero, "Gunmen attack opponents of Chávez's bid to extend power," New York Times, 8 Nov. (retrieved 30 Aug. 2009):
  The president's supporters . . . are trying to exert greater control over universities, touching a nerve among an increasingly defiant student movement.

Antonyms

strike a chord

Translations

Russian: заде́ть за живо́е pf (zadétʹ za živóje)
Swedish: trampa på en öm tå (sv) (step on a sore toe)

References

touch a nerve at OneLook Dictionary Search