Word.ws English Dictionary

picking quarrels and provoking trouble

picking quarrels and provoking trouble noun: a crime and administrative offence known for being vague, mainly concerning breaching the peace by creating a disturbance in a public place.

Noun

picking quarrels and provoking trouble (uncountable)

  1. (Mainland-China) A crime and administrative offence known for being vague, mainly concerning breaching the peace by creating a disturbance in a public place.

Forms of picking quarrels and provoking trouble

alternative formpicking quarrels and stirring up trouble
alternative formpicking quarrels and making trouble

Origin of picking quarrels and provoking trouble

Calque of Chinese 尋釁滋事 /寻衅滋事 (xúnxìn zīshì).

Questions about picking quarrels and provoking trouble

What does picking quarrels and provoking trouble mean?
Picking quarrels and provoking trouble means a crime and administrative offence known for being vague, mainly concerning breaching the peace by creating a disturbance in a public place.
What part of speech is picking quarrels and provoking trouble?
Picking quarrels and provoking trouble is a noun.

Words near picking quarrels and provoking trouble in the dictionary

  1. picking out
  2. picking out of a hat
  3. picking over
  4. picking quarrels
  5. picking quarrels and making trouble
  6. picking quarrels and provoking trouble
  7. picking quarrels and stirring up trouble
  8. picking sides
  9. picking someone's brain
  10. picking the wrong horse
  11. picking through

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: picking quarrels and provoking trouble (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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