make the dust fly

Idioms  

1. Also,. Stir matters up, cause a commotion or disturbance. For example, When she saw the dog sleeping on her new bedspread, she really made the dust fly, or As soon as he learns who dented his car, he'll make the feathers fly, or She'd better not interfere or he'll make the fur fly. The first usage alludes to the results of a vigorous house-cleaning effort. The two variants, both dating from the early 1800s, allude to what happens when a hunting dog is set on a bird or rabbit.

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Example Sentences

A design educator says he "has the energy and enthusiasm to make the dust fly."

From Time Magazine Archive

But there, it’s all over, and you and I can go and make the dust fly and set the millstones spinning as much as we like.

From The Vast Abyss The Story of Tom Blount, his Uncles and his Cousin Sam by Fenn, George Manville

My Mop is so big, It might serve as a wig For a judge, had he no objection; And as to my brooms, They will sweep dirty rooms, And make the dust fly, to perfection.

From A History of the Cries of London Ancient and Modern by Hindley, Charles

"You'll make the dust fly about if you disturb the books, and I can't abide dust."

From Dick Hamilton's Fortune The Stirring Doings of a Millionaire's Son by Garis, Howard R.

A poet describes a play in which Spartiate girls "like colts with flowing manes make the dust fly about them."

From History Of Ancient Civilization by Seignobos, Charles