albatross around one's neck
English
![](../I/m/Dore-I_watched_the_Water-Snakes-Detail.jpg)
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner (engraving by Gustave Doré, 1876)
Alternative forms
Etymology
From The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, wherein a sailor's killing of an albatross brings bad luck and results in the dead bird being hung around the killer's neck by his crewmates.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
See also
- a millstone round one's neck
- monkey on one's back
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