hornets' nest

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hor·nets' nest

(hôr′nĭts)

A violent or highly contentious situation: "such diplomatic hornets' nests as [the] expulsion of Asians from Uganda" (Christian Science Monitor).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun	1.	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' 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

hornets' nest

noun

A situation that presents difficulty, uncertainty, or perplexity:

issue, problem, question.

Informal: can of worms.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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1 Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Atom, pounds 7.99) 2 Heartstone by CJ Sansom (Mantle, pounds 18.99) 3 The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Corgi, pounds 7.99) 4 The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (Simon & Schuster, pounds 18.99) 5 A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin (HarperVoyager, pounds 20) 6 I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday Children's Books, pounds 18.99) 7 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson (Quercus, pounds 7.99) 8 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Quercus, pounds 7.99) 9 The Power by Rhonda Byrne (Simon & Schuster, pounds 14.99) 10 Coco Chanel by Justine Picardie (HarperCollins, pounds 25) www.waterstones.com * List compiled by Waterstones, Captain Cook Square, Middlesbrough

Top Ten Books

The three titles are: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; The Girl Who Played With Fire; and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.

Stieg Larsson's best selling novels to be adapted for Hollywood film franchise

To advertise the program they sent out around 3,500 postcards announcing that 180 Hornets' Nest spots were available in the company's second space.

Bees in audience bonnets: how a theatre is turning play readings into springboards of discussion

Summary: Relations between Lebanon and Syria have taken a marked turn for the worse in recent days, and the latter's pronouncement that it faces a dire threat emanating from inside the former's borders has poked the proverbial hornets' nest. Nascent crises of this sort have a way of quickly moving beyond the ability of any party to control.

Syria can be Lebanon's friend, but only when it starts acting like one

We gave him sanctuary at the cost of millions during the previous upheaval over his novel Satanic Verses and now this Government in its wisdom has once more stirred the hornets' nest.

Letter: Voice of the North - Sir is provocative

Saddam Hussein has built a 'hornets' nest' around Baghdad, ringing it with air defences more formidable than the 1991 Gulf War, say US military officials.

Iraq Crisis: DEFENCE - Saddam packs Baghdad with missiles, machineguns and anti-aircraft artillery

"Charitable choice raises a hornets' nest of policy and constitutional problems in providing welfare services; adding it to education programs is truly misguided," said Barry W.

`Charitable Choice' Added To Education Bill In House

BRISTOL City's faint hopes of an end-of-season play-off place were finally wrecked after they'd stirred up a hornets' nest at Chesterfield.

CITY HOPES FADE AWAY

THE first Asian hornets' nest found in Britain has been destroyed after an invasion of the insects which threaten bees.