dig at (someone or something)
1. verb Literally, to poke or prod someone or something. Those darn groundhogs keep digging at my herb garden! Here, use this trowel to dig at the soil, then we can start placing the plants. Ow, Doc, I can tell you my lymph nodes are swollen—you don't need to dig at them like that!
2. verb To make a critical comment about someone or something. You need to stop digging at your friends all the time, or they're going to stop hanging out with you. Don't worry about it, my mother-in-law's been digging at me all day—I just tune her out. If you dig at your kids over every little thing, it's going to hurt their self-esteem in time.
3. noun A critical comment about someone or something. Every time I'm with Ben, he seems to make a dig at my appearance. Well, you're the perfect child—Mom would never make a dig at you the way she does to me. If you make a dig at your kids over every little thing, it's going to hurt their self-esteem in time.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
dig at someone or something
1. Lit. to poke or jab at someone or something. Don't dig at me all the time. My side is getting sore where you jabbed me. Stop digging at the wall! Look at the hole you've made!
2. Fig. to make a cutting remark about someone or something. She is always digging at her husband's laziness. Fred was digging at the company he works for.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.