For an unbelieving face, whether the dull dining countenance of a mayor, or the keen searching countenance of a barrister, is a sad bone in the throat of utterance.

The inability to deduct losses from commercial or residential rentals from other real estate income has been a bone in the throat of real estate development companies.

The act . . . gave the USDA "authority to set nutritional standard for all foods regularly sold in schools during the day." That was a bit of a bone in the throat for parents who think their children should be governed by the smallest bureaucracy possible.

[E]ven though Obamacare relies on the typical American mix of private sector profit and government regulation, it remains a bone in the throat of American politics.

Bone in the throat

Meaning

Noun