Complaints are a natural part of business, whether they come from customers, employees, or partners. In this post, we’ll explore useful idioms for complaints that capture the language of concerns, grievances, and voicing issues in a professional context.
| Idiom | Definition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| State your case | To present your arguments or reasons for something | I stated my case to my boss about why I deserved a raise. |
| Voice your concerns | To express your worries or disapproval | The customer voiced their concerns about the defective product. |
| Put your foot down | To be firm and assertive | I put my foot down and told my coworker to stop making personal comments. |
| Give a piece of your mind | To express your strong opinions, especially in a critical or angry way | The customer gave the waiter a piece of their mind about the poor service. |
| Make a point | To emphasize something important | “I made a point of mentioning the issue in the next team meeting.” |
| Make a mountain out of a molehill | To exaggerate the importance of something | My coworker made a mountain out of a molehill when I accidentally deleted their file. |
| Make a scene | To create a public disturbance | The customer made a scene in the store, yelling at the manager. |
| Kick up a fuss | To create a disturbance or commotion | My boss kicked up a fuss when I arrived late to work. |
| Cry over spilled milk | To complain about something that cannot be changed | There’s no point crying over spilled milk. We just need to focus on moving forward. |
| Walk on eggshells | To be very cautious and careful about what you say or do | I felt like I was walking on eggshells around my new boss. |
| Tiptoe around | To be evasive or indirect | My coworker tiptoed around the issue, refusing to address the problem directly. |
| Sugarcoat something | To make something seem better or more pleasant than it really is | The manager sugarcoated the bad news about the layoffs. |
| Dance around the subject | To avoid talking directly about something | My boss danced around the subject when I asked for a raise. |
| Hit the roof | To become very angry | My boss hit the roof when she found out I had made a mistake on the report. |
| Go ballistic | To become extremely angry | The customer went ballistic when they found out their order was wrong. |
| Blow your top | To become very angry | My coworker blew her top when someone stole her lunch from the fridge. |
| Fly off the handle | To become very angry suddenly | The manager flew off the handle when the employee was late for the third time this week. |
| Throw a tantrum | To behave in a noisy and disruptive way | The child threw a tantrum when they didn’t get the toy they wanted. |
| Lose your cool | To become angry and lose control of your emotions | The customer lost their cool and started yelling at the cashier. |
| Go berserk | To become extremely wild or violent | The employee went berserk and started smashing things in the office. |
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