IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishtroubled waters
Meaning: Emotionally rough times or an unsettled situation.
Example: “The mediator was brought in to calm troubled waters between the departments.”
Origin: Calm water stands for peace and rough water for trouble. Pouring "oil on troubled waters," to calm things, goes back to ancient observations that oil smooths waves; Pliny the Elder described it. The phrase became familiar in English from the 18th century.
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