running sore

plural running sores

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see running, sore.; an ulcer that oozes pus.

   There was a running sore on the back of the foot all the time . When the pus ran from the sore it stuck to the bandage.

   1911, Supreme Court, page 43

   1 more example

   In Bohemia, it is claimed, there is no case of old running sore or ulcer which it will not completely and permanently heal.

   1852, Pamphlets - Homoeopathic - Volume 24, Issues 1-32, page 90

2. A festering problem; a situation that remains problematic or gets worse over time.

   The case of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and some of his colleagues is a running sore in people's minds.

   1984, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarvepalli Gopal, Madhavan K. Palat, Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, page 256

   3 more examples

   Economically and politically confused and disordered, in the period between the two world wars the Austrian Republic was a running sore in Europe.

   1956, Fritz Klenner, The Austrian Trade Union Movement, page 14

   This final running sore through several years did not leave the Queen unscathed, since it was clear that the palace had neglected its duty, either to persuade Charles to give up his long-running affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, or to protect and advise Diana how to cope with the international celebrity that had suddenly been thrust upon her.

   2022 September 8, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian

   From the early days, the government had controlled railway rates of carriage - notably for freight, which the railways had an obligation to convey. This 'all traffic offering' obligation and government control of freight rates combined to produce a running sore that would last into the 1950s.

   2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 37