make mischief

Idioms  

1. Cause trouble, as in Don't listen to her gossip—she's just trying to make mischief. This idiom was first recorded in 1884, but the related noun mischief-maker, a person who causes trouble especially by tale-bearing, dates from about 1700.

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Example Sentences

"If he had two options to make a political point, he would always use the one which allowed him to make mischief as well as making the point," he said.

From BBC

“But we were paid. Lots of gold. Lots of ribbons. Our favorite. They gave to us to make mischief,” the third proclaimed.

From Literature

Darrowby’s villagers are enjoying each other’s company when they’re beset by a small menace, a local boy determined to make mischief.

From Salon

So there is no “genuine ambiguity,” but instead an opportunity for lawyers to “make mischief” by “exploiting” the oversight of the Fourteenth Amendment's authors who assumed certain principles would be universally understood, he argued.

From Salon

“I see no evidence of interest by the Supreme Court to make mischief here,” said Vikram David Amar, the dean of the University of Illinois College of Law.

From New York Times