have a bone to pick (with one)
To have an issue to discuss, argue about, or bring up (with one), typically something that is a source of annoyance for the speaker. Hey, I have a bone to pick with you! Why didn't you put gas in my car after you borrowed it? Uh oh, the boss looks like she's got a bone to pick. I wonder who screwed up this time. Jerry, we have a bone to pick with you about how you leave your dirty dishes in the sink for days at a time.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
have a bone to pick (with someone)
to have a disagreement to discuss with someone; to have something to argue about with someone. Hey, Bill. I've got a bone to pick with you. Where is the money you owe me? I had a bone to pick with her, but she was so sweet that I forgot about it.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
have a bone to pick, to
To have a point to argue, an unpleasant issue to discuss, or a complaint. This term, which alludes both to a dog worrying a bone and to two dogs fighting over a single bone, dates from the early sixteenth century. “I will add this, which may be a bone for you to pick on,” wrote James Calfhill (Answer to Martiall, 1565)—that is, an issue to worry to death. “There is a bone for the gastronomers to pick,” Sir Walter Scott was quoted as saying about 1830, denoting something for more than one person to argue about.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer