mare's nest
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See also: mare's-nest
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Alteration of earlier horse's nest, from the fanciful and unlikely notion that horses make nests.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
mare's nest (plural mare's nests or mares' nests) (figurative)
- 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, published 2003, page 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.