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can of worms

   Also found in: Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
can of worms
n. pl. cans of worms Informal
A source of unforeseen and troublesome complexity.

can of worms - Based on an image of a container of maggots for use as fish bait.
See also related terms for worms.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.can of worms - a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity
trouble, problem - a source of difficulty; "one trouble after another delayed the job"; "what's the problem?"
colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech


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You might not be grateful for a can of worms as a present, but a farmer with poor soil in Bolivia certainly would.
When I was little I always went to my grandmother's house to rummage through her compost pile and bring a can of worms home for my room, who accepted them gratefully and later dumped them in her flower garden.
 
 
 
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