make a stink (about something)
(redirected from make/raise a stink)make a stink (about something)
To be very vocal in one's displeasure about something; to make a scene. My mom made a stink when the store refused to accept her return without a receipt. One of the customers is making a stink about the service charge we included on his bill.
make a (big) stink (about someone or something)
and raise a (big) stink (about someone or something)Fig. to make trouble about someone or something. Why did you raise a big stink about it? Jim is making a stink about Alice.
make a stink
(about something) Go to create a stink (about something).
make a stink
Also, raise a stink. Create a great fuss; complain, criticize, or otherwise make trouble about something. For example, They promised to fix the printer today; you needn't make a stink about it, or The parents were raising a stink about the principal's new rules. This idiom transfers an offensive odor to a public fuss. [Mid-1800s] Also see make a scene.