mare's nest
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.