mare's nest
See also: mare's-nest
English
WOTD – 23 July 2016
1899 Welsh cartoon using the phrase mare's nest.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈmɛːz nɛst/
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
mare's nest (plural mare's nests)
- A great discovery which turns out to be illusory; a hoax.
- c. 1620, John Fletcher (playwright), Bonduca, V.2:
- Why dost thou laugh? What Mares nest hast thou found?
- c. 1620, John Fletcher (playwright), Bonduca, V.2:
- A confused or complicated situation; a muddle.
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 277:
- Though Chancellor Maupeou had supported the idea of a trial [...], the legal proceedings developed into a mare's nest of accusations and counter-accusations.
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 277:
Further reading
This article is issued from
Wiktionary.
The text is licensed under Creative
Commons - Attribution - Sharealike.
Additional terms may apply for the media files.