What does ‘pulling teeth’ mean?

“It was good to see your mother after nearly three years. Will she be here for some time?” “Maybe for another two weeks. She said that you’d put on weight.” “She told me the same thing. I’ve been trying to lose weight for the past six months, but it’s like pulling teeth.” “Pulling teeth?

Getting one’s tooth pulled is not an enjoyable experience. It’s a very painful one. Was my mom saying you’re going to have a problem losing weight?” “The expression ‘pulling teeth’ has several different meanings – all of them negative.

When you say that completing a task was like pulling teeth, it means it was a slow and painful process.” “There were times when you just wanted to throw your hands into the air, and walk away!” “That’s right! Trying to have a conversation with Renu was like pulling teeth.” “Really?

She was quite chatty the last time I met her. How about this example? For many people, getting up early in the morning is like pulling teeth.” “That’s a good example. My parents had a tough time waking me up when I was in school.” “Talking about school.

Unlike most people I know, you never talk about your school days. Getting information from you about your school days is like pulling teeth.” “You’ll find that pulling teeth is a lot easier than getting me to talk about my school days.” “In that case, I will stop asking questions related to that phase of your life.

“Thank you. I appreciate that. So, what’s been…” “Tell me, what’s the difference between ‘aping someone’ and ‘parroting someone’?” “What does a parrot do? It flies around and ….” “That’s not what I mean. When you talk to your pet parrot which has been with you for a while, what does it do?” “When I say something, it sometimes repeats what I said.” “Exactly!

It repeats what you’ve said. Doesn’t really say anything new, does it?”