what is the meaning of " two birds tearing at flesh" in this paragraph?
‘Can I ask you a question?’ ‘Sounds ominous.’ She was always alarmed, as a kid, when adults began an inquisition with, ‘I’ve got a bone to pick with you.’ It was so palpable – two birds tearing at flesh
?2020-03-07T21:04:45Z
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This 'I've got a bone to pick with you' is an English idiom, and it is so idiomatic that speakers don't even think about 'bones' or 'meat' when it is said by Speaker A to Speaker B. It means "I have a disagreement with you [on some topic] and I want to state what I believe [about the topic] and I know you will disagree with my viewpoint." But this woman or girl ("she") takes it very literally and has that picture of the[carrion-eating] birds in her mind when she hears 'Can I ask you a question' as the exchange begins... So it is meant to be funny because she apparently is timid and takes it the wrong way, that she is going to have to argue with the person who will be asking whatever question they ask her. And it's even a little funnier because 'Can I ask you a question?' is very innocent and almost neutral as a question compared to "I've got a bone..." -- because you know a serious discussion is going to start when you hear that one in English as a conversation-opener. Ha-ha. EDIT: Actually, I said 'birds' but we don't even know what kind of animals (probably) were meant in the original expression: It might be two hungry dogs or even lions or tigers fighting with each other over the bone that has a little meat (or 'flesh') still on it...