Hornet 是黃蜂、胡蜂或者馬蜂。如果一個(gè)人不明智地捅馬蜂窩，必然遭到大群馬蜂的叮刺圍攻。所以，stir up a hornet's nest的含義就是：捅了馬蜂窩，惹人說辭或者招來批評的意思to provoke the attack of a swarm of spiteful enemies or spirited critics。
    例句：Why are you trying to stir up a hornet's nest? Our office has been managed this way for the last twenty years. Don't waste time complaining about it; you'll just get in a lot of trouble. 你為什么要去捅馬蜂窩呢？我們的辦公室這二十年來一向按照這個(gè)方式管理。你別浪費(fèi)時(shí)間去提意見了；你會(huì)給自己招惹麻煩的。
    又如：The case has stirred up a hornet's nest among the press and the congress. Everyone wants to know how this senior officer got away with stealing all those secrets for eight years before he got caught. 這件案子遭到新聞界和國會(huì)的強(qiáng)烈責(zé)難，使大家震驚的是這個(gè)高級官員怎么會(huì)竊取秘密情報(bào)長達(dá)八年之久才被發(fā)現(xiàn)。