捅马蜂窝

捅馬蜂窩
tǒng mǎfēngwō
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 to stir up a hornets' nest
  2. 2 to provoke big trouble

Examples

HSK 5
Nǐ qù pīpíng tā de xiàngmù, děngyú tǒng mǎfēngwō.
Criticizing his project would be stirring up a hornets' nest.
HSK 5
Zài huì shàng tí zhè jiàn shì, jiǎnzhí shì tǒng mǎfēngwō.
Bringing this up at the meeting would be stirring up a hornets' nest.

Tips

usage
Often split by 了: 捅了马蜂窝 "really stirred things up". A milder relative is 捅娄子 "to make a mess of things".

Stroke Order

捅 tǒng
马 mǎ
蜂 fēng
窝 wō