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Meaning

laughable presumption

Ridiculous and galling to watch, said of words or actions by someone who does not know their place.

Example

入社したばかりの新人に段取りを説かれるとは片腹痛い。

Being lectured on how to organize the work by a newcomer who just joined the company is laughable.

Origin

It comes from the classical katahara itashi (傍痛し, painful to watch from the side, hard to bear witnessing). This katahara was later taken to mean 片腹 (one side of the belly), giving the current spelling. The characters 片腹痛 already appear in the mid-Heian diary Shōyūki (1014). It does not mean having a pain in one's side.

Sources