worry an animal out of

worry an animal out of something

to pester an animal until it leaves something or some place. The cat finally worried the mouse out of its hole and caught it. We worried the squirrel out of the attic by making lots of noise.

See also: an, animal, of, out, worry

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.