make mischief


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.

Words Nearby make mischief

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

How to use make mischief in a sentence

  • If I don't know it before I leave the room to-night, I'll make mischief.

    A Life For a Love | L. T. Meade