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hornets' nest

   Also found in: Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
hor·nets' nest  (hôrnts)
n.
A violent or highly contentious situation: "such diplomatic hornets' nests as [the] expulsion of Asians from Uganda" (Christian Science Monitor).
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.hornets' nest - a highly contentious or hazardous situation; "talk of invading Iraq stirred up a political hornets' nest"
hornet's nest
situation - a complex or critical or unusual difficulty; "the dangerous situation developed suddenly"; "that's quite a situation"; "no human situation is simple"
2.hornets' nesthornets' nest - habitation for wasps or hornets      
wasp's nest, wasps' nest, hornet's nest
nidus - a nest in which spiders or insects deposit their eggs


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
I hadn't minded her mill that morning, on account of having that hornets' nest of other troubles; but more than once in the afternoon I had to say:
A Connecticut Yankee by Twain, Mark View in context
No sooner had Metak so unwarily opened the door to this hornets' nest than he immediately withdrew and, turning, fled again in a new direction.
Tarzan the Untamed by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context
Let us look,' said the lama, and he led from the white road across the fields; walking into a very hornets' nest of pariah dogs.
Kim by Kipling, Rudyard View in context
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