stir up a hornet's nest
Meaning: To cause a lot of trouble or anger, often by provoking people.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Questioning the budget at the meeting stirred up a hornet's nest.”
Category: Animals
Origin: Disturb a hornet's nest and the whole swarm attacks. "Hornet's nest" is in print by 1705, and the figurative use with "stir up" or "raise" follows in the 18th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: donner un coup de pied dans la fourmilière — literally: to give a kick into the anthill
More idioms — Animals
- drunk as a skunk — Extremely drunk.
- kick against the pricks — To resist authority or fate in a way that only hurts oneself.
- hell for leather — As fast as possible.
- buy a pig in a poke — To buy something without examining it first.
- a Trojan horse — Something that seems harmless but hides a threat inside.
- the dogs bark, but the caravan moves on — Let critics complain; one carries on regardless.
More English idioms
- poke one's nose into — To pry or interfere in matters that do not concern one.
- rot one's brain — To dull one's mind through mindless activity.
- put someone back on their feet — To help someone recover, financially, physically or emotionally.
- go down fighting — To keep struggling until the very end, even when defeat is certain.
- none of your beeswax — A playful way of saying "none of your business."
- that's all she wrote — That is the end of it; there is nothing more.
From our compliments & insults
- Du bist nicht die hellste Kerze auf der Torte — You're a little dim — not the smartest in the room.
- Tu as une cervelle de moineau — You're scatterbrained and forgetful.
- Без царя в голове (Bez tsarya v golove) — Foolish and reckless — with no one in charge upstairs.