Uncensored English UE03 - idioms - kick ass

 
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This ESL / EFL podcast covers the idiomatic expression “to kick (someone’s / something’s) ass” and “kick-ass” as an adjective.
The phrase can refer to a real ass (butt or bum), but usually the ass is metaphorical. That is, it’s not a question of a real-world, physical ass; the ass stands for something else. In fact, all usages of kick ass that don’t involve a physical foot connecting to a physical ass are metaphorical figures of speech….

What pisses you off? Part 2 - vocabulary

 
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Informal ways to express irritation, frustration and difficulty
Noun phrases
Pain in the neck (Am E. Br.E ): /rear/ass/bum (Br.E)/butt (Am.E) : describing anything tedious, difficult, annoying or irritating. Also used to describe people who are annoying, irritating or difficult to deal with:

My boss is a real pain in the ass (neck/butt/rear); [...]