a beef
noun (informal)

- a complaint

The Cambridge Dictionary

—
ORIGIN

The verb “to beef” (meaning “to complain”), is evidenced in American English from 1888.

The noun meaning "an argument or dispute" is from the 1930s.

The origin of these terms is unclear; perhaps they trace back to the late 19th century common-complaint of soldiers about the quantity or quality of their beef rations.

—
THE OLDEST RECORDED BEEF

Around 1750 BC, in the ancient city of Ur, an angry customer named Nanni carved a list of complaints onto a clay tablet.

Using the intricate signs of Akkadian cuneiform, he detailed his complaint about a sub-standard copper delivery from a merchant named Ea-nāṣir. Nanni didn't just stop there, though, he also wrote his extreme displeasure about the rude treatment he had received from the merchant's servant.

The cuneiform tablet carrying this message is considered to be the world's oldest known written complaint. This ancient testament to consumer-rights can be viewed today in the British Museum.

Nanni would probably be heartened to know that his BEEF with Ea-nāṣir continues to resonate thousands of years later... which just goes to show, that whether you're dealing with low-quality copper or a poor Wi-Fi connection, customer complaints are a tale as old as time!

—
SYNONYMS

a bone to pick, an argument, an axe to grind, an issue, an objection, annoyance, bad blood, battle, BEEF, beefing, bellyache, bicker, bickering, blowup, brawl, broil, brush, carp, cavil, challenge, clash, complaint, conflict, contention, controversy, difference, disagreement, discontent, discord, dispute, dissent, dissidence, dissatisfaction, dustup, face-off, fallout, feud, fight, fracas, fuss, grievance, gripe, groan, grumble, grumbling, grouch, grousing, grouse, growl, gripe, hard feelings, hassle, holler, huff, hullabaloo, infighting, kick, kvetch, moan, niggle, nitpick, peeve, pet peeve, problem, protest, quibble, quarrel, rancour, rhubarb, row, ruckus, ruction, rumble, run-in, scrap, set-to, squabble, squawk, squall, strife, tangle, tiff, tussle, umbrage, uproar, whine, whinge, wrangle, yammer, yelp, yowl

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“You could say that some vegetarians have A BEEF with meat-eaters :-)”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations.

Every month, I spend evening and weekend hours with my family researching and writing your daily OWAD. It remains FREE, AD-free, and ALIVE thanks to voluntary donations from appreciative readers.

If you aren’t already, please also consider supporting us - even the equivalent of a single cup of coffee a month will help us cover mailing, site hosting, and maintenance costs. Just head over to DonorBox:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-5-3

or bank transfer to Paul Smith
IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40
Please use your email-address as ‘Verwendungszweck’

Thank you,
Paul