get under someone's skin
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
So, come on you literary types; stop fretting about Orwell and start getting under our skins.
Sorge was annoyed with himself, irritated that he had allowed the Intelligence man to get under his skin.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “get under someone's skin” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “get under someone's skin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.