pick a quarrel

Idioms  

1. Also,. Seek an opportunity to quarrel or argue with someone. For example, I don't want to pick a quarrel with you, or Jason was always in trouble for picking fights. These terms use pick in the sense of “select.” [Mid-1400s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pick a quarrel

Even if she gets defensive or wants to pick a quarrel with you, you don’t have to engage: “I don’t want to fight about this with you, so let’s drop the subject.”

From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2021

She is a communist and atheist and one day goes to confession, purely and simply to pick a quarrel with the priest – and this is Morin, an excellent performance from Jean-Paul Belmondo.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 28, 2017

Easy enough to pick a quarrel with a show like Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll: Where are Sam Cooke and the Drifters?

From Time Magazine Archive

He warned Japan that, while Britain had no desire to pick a quarrel, she would not let her interests in the Far East be set aside.

From Time Magazine Archive

He knew this was an impossibility, and he only said it in order to pick a quarrel.

From The Rainbow Book Tales of Fun & Fancy by Spielmann, Mabel Henriette