kick up a stew

Meanings

verb

To cause trouble; cause a dust-up; cause a hubbub.
"[…] would rush in and kick up a stew and get all the worst of it. That's not my style."
1916, William Heyliger, Captain Fair-and-Square, page 91
2 more examples
But if you come to the United States to jest kick up a stew, / 'Tween Abner Jones an' his man Mike, an' neighbor Donahue, '[…]
1898, James Riley, Songs of Two Peoples, page 42
Bathing girls of the outdoor kind have cruised before the public eye for years, without causing more than a passing ripple, so why should the bathing girl kick up a stew the minute she does her bath- ing within the privacy of her own home , e'en though she be portrayed on a billboard ? Of course , we will admit the advertiser might have soothed the ruffled feelings of his public[…]
1920 July 15, The Plumbers Trade Journal, volume 69, page 83
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see kick, stew.
The Verna swerved close, her stern kicking up a stew as she started to back up.
1994, Leftare P. Delis, The Inside Passage, page 166

From dialectal stew (“(cloud of) dust”).

Cite this entry

APA

kick up a stew. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20up%20a%20stew

MLA

“kick up a stew.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20up%20a%20stew. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kick up a stew,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20up%20a%20stew.