fly in the ointment

THESAURUS

fly in the ointment

abomination, atrocity, bad, bane, befoulment, blemish, blight, block, blockade, bottleneck, bug, catch, cordon, corruption, crack, crying evil, curtain, damage, defect, defection, deficiency, defilement, despoliation, destruction, determent, deterrent, detriment, difficulty, drawback, evil, failing, failure, fault, faute, flaw, foible, frailty, grievance, hang-up, harm, havoc, hazard, hitch, hole, hurdle, hurt, ill, imperfection, inadequacy, infection, infirmity, injury, joker, kink, little problem, mischief, objection, obstacle, obstruction, obstructive, one small difficulty, outrage, poison, pollution, problem, rift, rub, shortcoming, snag, something missing, stumbling block, stumbling stone, taint, the worst, toxin, venom, vexation, vulnerable place, weak link, weak point, weakness, woe, wrong