expression, noun
cause of annoyance; irritant; pet peeve
Refers to something that repeatedly or particularly gets on one's nerves; often used in the phrase 癪の種になる (to become a source of irritation).
彼の自慢話が癪の種だ。
His boasting is a source of irritation.
毎朝の満員電車が癪の種になっている。
The crowded train every morning has become a pet peeve.
An expression meaning 'to get on one's nerves' or 'to irritate'; 癪の種 is the cause of that irritation.
A noun meaning 'irritation' or 'frustration' as a feeling; 癪の種 is the external cause that provokes it.
Composed of 癪 (しゃく, 'irritation' or 'anger') and 種 (たね, 'seed' or 'source'), literally 'seed of irritation'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase is conventionally associated with the idea of something that grows into annoyance.