noun
albatross
A problem or source of guilt that weighs heavily on someone.
The unfinished shopping center remains an albatross around the city's neck.
Etymology
Portuguese alcatraz named a seabird. The burdensome sense recalls Coleridge’s mariner, forced to wear the albatross he killed around his neck as a sign of guilt.
In context
the fact that it's a small amount of a debt makes it in a lot of ways no less of a financial albatross for them
More examples
- His earlier promise became a political albatross.
- The costly house was an albatross they could no longer afford.
- She finally escaped the albatross of that unresolved debt.
Forms
albatross · albatrosses
Similar words
- burden
- Is a general responsibility or difficulty without the vivid metaphor.
- liability
- Emphasizes a disadvantage or obligation rather than a lingering emotional weight.