Open up a can of worms


verb phrase

To broach a very complicated and troublesome matter; set something messy in motion: Merit pay? Let’s not open up that can of worms (1962+)

Related Terms

can of worms

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    [o-puh n-web] /ˈɒ pənˈwɛb/ adjective, (of a metal joist or girder) 1. having a web of zigzag or crisscross lacing.

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    operating system A graphical user interface server for Sun workstations which handles SunView, NeWS and X Window System protocols. (1995-06-11)

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    Begin with, as in The concert season opens with the Symphony performing Mahler’s Ninth. This idiom uses open in the sense of “begin,” a usage dating from the late 1600s.


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