mare's nest
The term "mare's nest" is used to describe either a confusing situation or a discovery that turns out to be false.
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Definition
C1General
(common)A situation that is very confused or complicated.
Example
- The project turned into a mare's nest of conflicting priorities and unclear objectives.
C2General
(historical)An imagined discovery that proves to be illusory or deceptive.
Example
- The supposed breakthrough in the case was nothing more than a mare's nest.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "mare's nest":
mare's teatmare's tailbird's nestrat's nesttrap nesthornets' nest