hornet's nest
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hornet's nest
First recorded in 1730–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All that is to say, when Black moseyed into a Bluesky hornet’s nest about the upcoming HBO “Harry Potter” series, I honestly think he underestimated how much he’d get stung.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2026
Curiously, I never really got angry at the North Koreans, on the assumption that if you kick the hornet’s nest and get stung, you can’t really blame the hornets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Zegler's comments about the original Snow White and the direction of the new version have stirred up the hornet's nest.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2023
The trooper said he “didn’t really see a need to stir up the hornet’s nest for such a minor violation.”
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2023
We were risking our skins in this hornet’s nest for some nuts?
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
