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bone to pick, have a

Idioms  

  1. An unpleasant issue or grievance that needs discussion. For example, Concerning the room assignments, I have a bone to pick with you. This metaphoric term alludes to a dog worrying a bone. [Early 1500s]

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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