HORNET'S NEST Definition & Meaning

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hornet's nest

noun

a large amount of activity, trouble, hostility, or animosity:
His investigation stirred up a hornet's nest, resulting in major shifts in personnel.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of hornet's nest¹

First recorded in 1730–40

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“Political leaders are all afraid of poking the hornet’s nest and taking a stand.”

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He penned a memoir on growing up in the rural South as well as a book of poems, and he was the first president to write a novel — “The Hornet’s Nest,” about the South during the Revolutionary War.

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“Do we really want to rattle the hornet’s nest?” if Trump wins, asked Regent José Hernández.

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“The Metastasis operation is like kicking the hornet’s nest,” said Gustavo Flores-Macías, a professor of government and public policy at Cornell University who specializes in Latin America.

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They’re still no match for a guy who can wipe out a hornet’s nest with a stun gun.

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