To stick out like a sore thumb

Question

Hello everybody! Has an idiom "to stick out like a sore thumb" a negative connotation? Can it be used in the same situations like an idiom "black sheep"?Thank you!

Philip · Accepted Answer

I don't feel a relationship between the two idioms, so I would say that no, they are not used in the same situations. The 'sore thumb' expresses an obvious appearance which does, indeed, carry a negative connotation. 'Black sheep' simply refers to a person who is different from his peer group, and may or may not have a negative connotation.

Wilpeter · Answer

My understanding of the idiom is a situation that has been created accidentally and which is very obvious to everyone who sees it.  In reality, a 'sore' thumb (or rather a bandaged thumb) is quite obvious (especially when the thumb is extended by a splint) which, I think, is the origin of the idiom.  In idiomatic use, simply wearing a white tie to a black-tie event would be embarrassing and thereby negative.  To all, it would stick out like a sore thumb - i.e., be noticeable.

CalifJim · Answer

TinaMr~~Has an~~ Does the idiom "to stick out like a sore thumb" have a negative connotation?

Yes. It has the connotation that something that looks unpleasantly out of place or inappropriate in its surroundings.

Wearing cheap-looking, garish jewellery makes you stick out like a sore thumb.
The big sofa will look good in this room, but that big plastic lamp will stick out like a sore thumb.
Beside the grandiose Palazzo Versace, the rusty old fishing trawlers stick out like a sore thumb.

TinaMrCan it be used in the same situations like an the idiom "black sheep"?

No. None of those examples above could be rephrased with "black sheep". The usual collocation is "black sheep of the family", the one member of a family who is unlike all the others, the misfit, the least liked member of the family, in some cases, the outcast. It can be used in other comparisons as well, however.

Passing that kind of legislation would make Switzerland the black sheep of Europe.
In the early 2000s, South Koreans considered North Korea the black sheep of the family.
Independent record stores have long been the black sheep of the greater music industry.

We would not use "stick out like a sore thumb" in any of these sentences with "black sheep".

CJ

TinaMr · Answer

Thank you, Philip!

TinaMr · Answer

Thank you, wilpeter!

TinaMr · Answer

CJ, thank you very much for such an EXHAUSTIVE explanation!!! Besides, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for correcting my English! I had doubts, when using an indefinite article in "like an idiom". The first one I made definitely because of inattentiveness. I am really very, very grateful for your help!!!

CalifJim · Answer

TinaMrI am really very, very grateful for your help!!!

You are very welcome.

CJ

To stick out like a sore thumb

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