skirmish

skirmish with (someone or something)

1. noun A minor or short-lived fight, battle, conflict, or dispute with another person, country, group, military force, etc. Tom's skirmish with that guy in the pub landed both of them in jail. Our forces entered into a skirmish with rebels on the outskirts of the city. The country has been locked in an economic skirmish with its neighbors to the north over their plan to increase tariffs on imports.
2. verb To engage or enter into such a fight, battle, conflict, or dispute with someone, some group, or some country. Jack was expelled from school for skirmishing with some of the other boys in his class. The senator has been skirmishing with members of his own party recently over the issue of tax reform.
See also: skirmish
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

skirmish with someone or something

to have a minor fight with someone, a group, or something. Tim skirmished a bit with his brother and then ran into the house. I don't want to skirmish with the committee.
See also: skirmish
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • look alike
  • turd
  • birdturd
  • angle
  • angling
  • belt
  • belted
  • belting
References in periodicals archive
KURRAM AGENCY -- Days after Afghan and Pakistani forces skirmished along the international border, MNA Sajid Hussain Turi called for Afghan soldiers involved in the incident to be punished under international law.
Cross-border skirmish: Try Afghan soldiers under international law, says Turi
The final skirmish is at 3pm and voting taking place from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
Roman and Celtic camps go to battle
As a result of the skirmish, two violators were killed while the remaining trespassers returned to the Afghan territory.
Two drug traffickers killed on Tajik-Afghan border
At least eight Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the border skirmish, although some local Azerbaijani news outlets report that the death toll has reached 11.
At least eight Azerbaijani soldiers killed on border with Armenia
Kidapawan City - Some 70 families displaced by ongoing skirmishes between warring groups in Matalam, North Cotabato, were provided with relief goods coming from the provincial government.
Conflict-affected villagers get relief goods
The threat of a Sino- Indian skirmish that may push the two Asian giants to the brink of war is so real that it has set the alarm bells ringing in the top echelons of the Union government.
Combative China rings alarm bells
15-- A skirmish broke out last Sunday between well-trained Republican Guards, Central security and the dissident 1st Armoured Division in northern Sana'a.
Skirmish between Republican Guards and 1st Armoured Division in Sana'a
San Francisco, CA, June 25, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Project Ethereal, an independent game development team from Carnegie Mellon University, today announced the upcoming Beta for their first game, Ethereal - Medieval Skirmish Warfare.
Combat Gets Medieval on Gamers June 30 with the Beta Release of Ethereal - Medieval Skirmish Warfare
Skirmish units deployed in open order, though still in a line, as they tried to protect the main battle line; snipers usually acted individually, were exempt from ordinary duties, and seemingly killed without remorse.
The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth
In this week's skirmish, we preview the session ahead with a last look at the speaker's race and a closer look at 2011's budget struggles.
Audio: The Weekly TribCast: Episode 61
The skirmish began when Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills in the area, according to South Korean officials.
Korea rocked by shell fire
The North said it was merely "reacting to the military provocation of the puppet group with a prompt powerful physical strike," and accused Seoul of starting the skirmish with its "reckless military provocation as firing dozens of shells inside the territorial waters of the" North.
Civilians flee and tensions rise as fighting erupts on Korea border
The Fort Airsoft Skirmish Club had appealed to the Scottish goverment to ditch council conditions that only let them open twice a month.
Locals get shot of war games
Israel said the confrontation was sparked when Lebanese soldiers began shooting the IDF, said Iskandar, which implies that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet decided to engage in a full showdown with Lebanon and that it will not take advantage of a skirmish to launch a bigger aggression, at least for now, he argued.
Lebanon-Israel
The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has confirmed that Israeli troops did not cross into Lebanon during Tuesday's deadly border skirmish.
UN: Israel did not cross border