Synonyms

can of worms

American

noun

Informal. a source of many unpredictable or unexpected problems.

Buying a company we know nothing about would be opening up a whole new can of worms.

can of worms Idioms

A complex unexpected problem or unsolvable dilemma, as in Tackling the budget cuts is sure to open a can of worms. This expression alludes to a container of bait used for fishing, which when opened reveals an inextricable tangle of worms. [1920s]

First recorded in 1965–70

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

I pressed my mouth into a line, wondering if I’d opened a can of worms.

From Literature

Creech, however, reports the money on the return as displayed on the tax form: “Otherwise, we risk opening a whole can of worms.”

From MarketWatch

A can of worms—its opening both entices and repels.

From The Wall Street Journal

“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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023