Definition

Noun: 1. A nest built by hornets: The physical, papery nest constructed by hornets (a type of large wasp) to house their colony. 2. A highly contentious, dangerous, or volatile situation: A metaphorical term for a complex problem or circumstance that, if disturbed, is likely to provoke an angry, aggressive, or troublesome reaction.

Examples

• Literal Meaning (Nest):

  • The children were warned not to throw stones at the hornet's nest in the old oak tree.
  • A large, gray hornet's nest was hanging from the eaves of the barn.

• Figurative Meaning (Volatile Situation):

  • The journalist's investigation into the corruption scandal stirred up a real hornet's nest.
  • Proposing changes to the pension plan will open a hornet's nest of employee complaints.

Advanced Usage

• "To stir up a hornet's nest": To cause a lot of trouble or anger by doing or saying something.
  • His careless comments on social media stirred up a hornet's nest of criticism.
• "To open a hornet's nest": Similar to "stir up," meaning to initiate or uncover a problematic situation.
  • The audit opened a hornet's nest of financial irregularities.

Variants and Related Words

• Hornet: (n) The large, stinging insect itself.
• Wasp's nest: (n) A similar nest built by wasps; can be used metaphorically in the same way, though "hornet's nest" is more common for emphasizing severity.
• Beehive: (n) A structure where honeybees live. While a beehive can represent busy activity, it does not carry the same strong connotation of anger and danger as "hornet's nest."

Synonyms

• Powder keg: A situation that is likely to explode into violence or trouble.
• Tinderbox: A situation that is very tense and likely to become violent or problematic.
• Can of worms: A situation that, once started, leads to many unforeseen and complicated problems. (This is less focused on anger/aggression and more on complexity.)

Related Idioms

• "Mad as a hornet": Extremely angry.
  • He was mad as a hornet when he discovered the mistake.
• "To bring a hornet's nest about one's ears" (archaic/literary): To bring severe trouble or retribution upon oneself.
  • The king's unjust tax brought a hornet's nest about his ears from the peasantry.

Noun

1. habitation for wasps or hornets
2. a highly contentious or hazardous situation
   • talk of invading Iraq stirred up a political hornets' nest