poke the bear

动词 v.
中文释义

英文释义

动词 v.
  1. To deliberately aggravate somebody, especially somebody in a position of power or authority. US,idiomatic
    — Throughout my training I witnessed several doctors run out of town because their honesty and outspokenness began to poke the bear.
  2. To deliberately anger Russia or the Russian government. idiomatic,slang

词形变化

pokes the bear present,singular,third-person poking the bear participle,present poked the bear participle,past poked the bear past

词汇关系

相关词
bearbaiting ruffle some feathers when you mess with the bull, you get the horns

词源

The second sense refers to the use of bears to represent Russia, as a shortening of the idiom "poke the Russian bear" (to anger or threaten Russia and start a war with Russia).
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