stick to beat (someone or something) with

Something, often a mishap or misdeed, that is used as an excuse for criticism. Primarily heard in UK. Even the slightest mistake by Stan was enough to give the boss a stick to beat him with.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Fedora	-	Russian
Coty	-	English (Modern)
Fannie	FAN-ee	English
Marin	['mærin]
Margarida	mar-ga-REE-də (Portuguese)	Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Occitan
Jiang	-	Chinese