Have a bone to pick with someone Informal

To have a specific complaint or grievance that you want to discuss with someone, often directly and somewhat confrontationally. It can be playful or serious depending on tone.

The phrase draws on the image of a dog occupied with a bone, worrying at it and refusing to let it go. English has long used bones in figurative language about quarrels and contentious matters; expressions involving a bone of contention are related in imagery, though they are not necessarily the direct source of this particular wording. A bone to pick came to mean a point to dispute or an issue to settle, and the form have a bone to pick with someone became a familiar way to announce a grievance. The metaphor conveys persistence: the speaker has something specific they do not intend to leave unresolved. It is not necessarily a lasting grudge, and in modern conversation it is often used half-jokingly before a minor complaint.

I’ve got a bone to pick with you about the way you left the kitchen.

She has a bone to pick with the landlord over the repairs.

I have a bone to pick with you — you told everyone the surprise!