can of worms

NOUN

complicated situation

Synonyms

WEAK

Gordian knot Pandora's box complex problem complexity complication difficult situation difficulty dog's breakfast entanglement hard nut to crack headache hornet's nest hot water mare's nest mess predicament problem quagmire quandary snafu snake pit snarl trouble troublesome problem unpredictable situation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It opens up a whole new can of worms.”

From The Wall Street Journal

What remains to be seen now is whether a wider can of worms has been opened.

From BBC

“China is reopening the same can of worms.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Nudleman prefers to use his Amazon Fire Stick’s voice search feature to look for specific titles he’s interested in, but that experience is its own can of worms.

From Salon

Another little disagreement on their way to a Tokyo market the next day opened up “a can of worms,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

can of worms

Example Sentences

Related Words