Lesson 4 - I Have a Bone to Pick with You!

Easy American Idioms » Lesson 4 - I Have a Bone to Pick with You!

Word List

Beats me

→ I don’t know. I have no idea.
To have something covered

→ To be responsible for something, to handle something.
To slip someone’s mind

→ To be forgotten by someone.
Look who’s talking!

→ An expression of disbelief or irony meaningthat someone is guilty of something he or she is blaming someone else for.
To not give a damn

→ To not care. Note that some people considerthe word “damn” to be harsh and impolite, so an alternate expression is to not give a darn.
To fly off the handle

→ To become extremely agitated, excited, or angry. To react too strongly to a situation.
To make a mountain out of a molehill

→ To exaggerate a situation, to turn a relatively minor situation into something much bigger or more important than it should be.
To have a bone to pick with someone

→ To have a problem or complaint about someone.
To get something out in the open

→ To air a complaint or a grievance, to discuss something openly.
Slacker

→ A lazy or irresponsible person. This expression is related to the verb “to slack off.”
To be eating someone

→ To bother, aggravate, or frustrate someone over a period of time.
Bent out of shape

→ Annoyed or bothered by something. Upset. Note that this expression suggests that the reason behind the emotion is insignificant or not worth being upset about.
To lighten up

→ To take a more casual or relaxed attitude. To not be overly upset or angry about something.
To lean on

→ To rely or count on, to be dependent on someone else instead of being self-sufficient.
To pick up someone’s slack

→ To compensate for someone else’s shortcomings.
To pass the buck

→ To put the blame or responsibility on someone else.
To hook someone up with something

→ To arrange for someone to have something. To help someone obtain something or to give someone something.
To screw up

→ To make mistakes, to perform poorly.
To give someone a bad name

→ To give someone a bad reputation.
To work your tail off

→ To work very hard. To put forth great effort.
To twiddle your thumbs

→ To do nothing. Literally, to have your hands clasped and to move your thumbs in circles around each other.
Bull

→ Nonsense. Something untrue or unbelievable. Note that this is a shortened, more polite form of an expression containing a four-letter word.“Bull” on its own is not considered vulgar, though.
To chat someone up

→ To talk to someone, to show interest insomeone by making conversation.
To lift a finger

→ To offer help. To put forth effort to do some sort of physical work.
To look like a train wreck

→ To be very messy or in terrible condition. To appear as if destroyed in some kind of accident.
To pitch in

→ To assist, to share in a responsibility, such as housework or bill paying.
To get off your high horse

→ To stop acting superior or selfrighteous.
To show someone up

→ To try to appear better or more competentthan other people.
Goody-goody

→ An unflattering name for someone who behavesvery well, is very responsible, and never gets into any kind of trouble. An expression that suggests that someone is afraid to do anything wrong.
To be at someone’s throat

→ To be fighting with someone. To be aggressively attacking someone.
To give something a rest

→ To stop doing something, to pause or take a break from some kind of activity.

I Have a Bone to Pick with You!

Andrew: Don’t we get off here, at this exit?

Rob: Beats me . . . You said you had the directions covered.

Andrew: Yeah, but I’m also driving right now. Just look in the glove compartment. I think I put them in there.

Rob: They’re not here.

Andrew: They should be . . . Let me see . . . Oh man, I took them out to double-check something and forgot to put them back in. It must have slipped my mind . . .

Rob: So we’re lost? That’s great.

Andrew: It’s no big deal. We can call or ask someone for directions.

Rob: This is typical. Why did you say you’d handle the directions if you weren’t going to handle them?

Andrew: Look who’s talking! The only reason I said I’d handle them is because I knew you couldn’t be counted on.

Rob: Me? You’ve got to be kidding. You’re the one who doesn’t give a damn about anyone around you.

Andrew: All right, let’s not fly off the handle here. We just need to get directions. There’s no reason to make a mountain out of a molehill. What’s the deal?
(Silence.)

Andrew: C’mon. If you have a bone to pick with me, don’t beat around the bush . . . Let’s get it out in the open before we get to Aunt Helen’s place.

Rob: All right, fine. I think you’ve become a bit of a slacker lately.

Andrew: You think I’m a slacker? That’s a bit harsh. Why would you say something like that? What’s eating you?

Rob: Well, for instance, last week you needed to borrow one of my shirts for work because you didn’t bother to plan ahead and buy one yourself.

Andrew: It’s just a shirt! Are you really that bent out of shape over my borrowing a shirt? You need to lighten up a bit, Rob.

Rob: It’s not just the shirt, Andrew. It’s that you lean on everyone else and expect them to pick up your slack. You don’t take responsibility—you’re always passing the buck.

Andrew: That’s insane. I needed a shirt for a new job. If I were such a slacker I wouldn’t even have a job.

Rob: Okay, let’s talk about the job, then.

Andrew: What about it?

Rob: Well, I got you that job. I hooked you up with a great job at a place where I’ve worked for three years.

Andrew: And I’ve thanked you for it like a thousand times.

Rob: Yeah, but what you do there reflects on me. If you screw up it really gives me a bad name.

Andrew: How am I screwing up? I work my tail off there!

Rob: Sometimes, yeah, but you also sit around twiddling your thumbs a lot, too.

Andrew: Oh, that’s bull.

Rob: No, it’s true. And you also seem to find a lot of time to chat up the pretty girls who walk in instead of doing your job.

Andrew: I’m a salesman! I’m supposed to talk with the customers.

Rob: But it’s the same thing at home. You’re still living with Mom and Dad, and you hardly ever lift a finger around the house to help out. You’re 22 years old and your room looks like a train wreck. You don’t even pitch in with groceries . . .

Andrew: That’s not true at all! And how would you know? You’re not even there.

Rob: I have eyes, Andrew. I can see. You still act like a child sometimes.

Andrew: Oh, you need to get off your high horse, Rob. You’re the one acting like a child. You’re still trying to show everyone up, like little Mr.Perfect. You were a goody-goody as a kid, and you haven’t changed since.

Rob: Hey, what do you know . . . ?

Andrew: What?

Rob: While we were at each other’s throats you somehow managed to get us to Aunt Helen’s.

Andrew: Oh, yeah. That’s her house there. Pretty good for such a slacker.

Rob: Just park the car and give it a rest for now.

Andrew: Gladly. Just don’t criticize my parking job.

Rob: Ugh. The ride home is going to be long . . .

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