eating at his craw

[Ben Zimmer]

On tonight's NY Mets gamecast on SNY, color commentator Keith
Hernandez was talking about how the once-speedy Carlos Beltran isn't
able to steal bases much any more due to age and injuries: "It's gotta
be really eating at his craw."

An idiom blend of "eats at him" and "sticks in his craw," presumably.
Dozens of hits for "eat|eats|eating|ate at my|your|his|her craw" on
Google and in the databases, many in sports contexts -- going back to
1969 on Proquest:

---
Christian Science Monitor, Oct 21, 1969, p. 13
[Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Monte Clark on coach Blanton
Collier:] "That's not to say that a loss or imperfection doesn't eat
at his craw; it does. He takes a loss as tough as anybody does."
---
Washington Post, Aug. 9, 1970 (Potomac, Back to School issue)
One problem eats at their craw, though, and that is the few vile
rank-crazed varlets who, by virtue of mere age, not fibre, outrank
them, pester them.
---

(The OED doesn't have "stick in one's craw" under "stick" or "craw," btw.)

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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