I have other fish to fry.

The speaker has more pressing or more relevant matters to deal with and does not intend to devote attention to the issue currently being raised. It commonly signals a decision to move on rather than continue a discussion, task, or dispute.

The phrase can neutrally explain competing priorities, but, depending on tone and delivery, it may sound dismissive and imply that the matter raised is not worth the speaker's time. It can mark practical urgency, impatience, or a refusal to be drawn into something unimportant.

Use this idiom when declining to spend further time on a matter because other responsibilities or aims take precedence. It suits informal speech and conversational writing; in sensitive settings, a plainer explanation may sound less abrupt or dismissive.