kick up a fuss/stink
idiom
informal
: to complain
The service in the restaurant wasn't very good, but we decided not to kick up a fuss/stink about it.
Examples of kick up a fuss/stink in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The rules remain in place, but clubs don’t kick up a stink if they’re being broken, so governing bodies don’t sanction, and working around them has become accepted practice to help the transfer system run smoothly.
—
Steve Madeley, New York Times, 15 June 2025
But the city was overrun with his target audience—white progressives, left-leaning university faculty, and impressionable students who could be counted on to kick up a fuss.
—Deborah Baker
june 3, Literary Hub, 3 June 2025
At the same time, there is an unshakable sense that successive British Foreign Secretaries and Prime Ministers have been scared to kick up a fuss.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
French regulators are less likely to kick up a fuss if Carrefour divests from individual countries, like its sale of Carrefour Taiwan to Taiwanese conglomerate Uni-President in 2023.
—Kimberly Chin, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024
Lingering stains and crumbs can kick up a stink that can be picked up by animals with sensitive noses and perhaps lead to campers having unwanted guests in the middle of the night.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Normalizing public breastfeeding is, strangely, still an ongoing cultural battle, but to kick up a fuss on Instagram seems especially childish.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 31 Mar. 2021
Researchers say that the highly territorial llamas will kick up a fuss if intruders drop by, and will scare away foxes and other predators looking to snack on eggs or chicks.
—Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2010
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Steve Madeley, New York Times, 15 June 2025
But the city was overrun with his target audience—white progressives, left-leaning university faculty, and impressionable students who could be counted on to kick up a fuss.
—Deborah Baker
june 3, Literary Hub, 3 June 2025
At the same time, there is an unshakable sense that successive British Foreign Secretaries and Prime Ministers have been scared to kick up a fuss.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
French regulators are less likely to kick up a fuss if Carrefour divests from individual countries, like its sale of Carrefour Taiwan to Taiwanese conglomerate Uni-President in 2023.
—Kimberly Chin, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024
Lingering stains and crumbs can kick up a stink that can be picked up by animals with sensitive noses and perhaps lead to campers having unwanted guests in the middle of the night.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Normalizing public breastfeeding is, strangely, still an ongoing cultural battle, but to kick up a fuss on Instagram seems especially childish.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 31 Mar. 2021
Researchers say that the highly territorial llamas will kick up a fuss if intruders drop by, and will scare away foxes and other predators looking to snack on eggs or chicks.
—Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2010
Cite this Entry
“Kick up a fuss/stink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kick%20up%20a%20fuss%2Fstink. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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