hornet's nest

1. A dangerous, complicated situation. If we do invade, I fear that we will find ourselves in a real hornet's nest. Man, what was supposed to be a straightforward merger has turned into a real hornet's nest. I wonder if we should try to get out of it now. Can you make sense of this hornet's nest? It seems like a real morass to me.

2. A situation that produces angry reactions. The politician's off-the-cuff remark about pollution stirred up a hornet's nest among environmentalists. Unless you enjoy kicking up a hornet's nest, do not say anything flip like that in front of the parents. The actor's inappropriate social media posts have stirred up quite a hornet's nest in Hollywood.

a ˈhornet’s nest

a lot of trouble: When Charles got the manager’s job, it stirred up a real hornet’s nest, because everyone was angry about his fast promotion.

A hornet is a large wasp that has a very powerful sting.