Meaning
To provoke an outburst of anger, criticism or trouble, usually by raising a controversial subject or disturbing a settled state of affairs. A hornet's nest on its own means a troublesome, hazardous situation. Informal; emphasises trouble the provoker has brought on themselves. Regional use: General English.
Origin
A transparent metaphor from literally poking a hornets' nest: the insects swarm out and attack whatever disturbed them. Merriam-Webster dates the figurative hornet's nest, a troublesome or hazardous situation, to a first known use of 1730, so the image was proverbial in the American colonies well before the Revolution. The most famous American association is with Charlotte, North Carolina, said to have been dubbed a hornet's nest of rebellion by Lord Cornwallis in 1780 after stubborn local resistance; archivists at the University of North Carolina note, however, that there is no documentary evidence that Cornwallis ever said it, and the remark appears to have been publicised afterwards by proud locals whose city still calls itself the Hornets' Nest. The English phrase needs no American origin story: it is simple rural imagery from the literal behaviour of the insects.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- arouse a hornets' nest
- kick a hornet's nest
- poke a hornet's nest
- stir a hornet's nest
Usage Examples
- The proposal to close the village library stirred up a hornets' nest of objections.
- By reopening the question of parking charges, the councillor stirred up a hornets' nest.
- You would stir up a hornets' nest by auditing those expense claims, which is exactly why nobody has.