Open a can of worms.


 Here we see a pair of fish having a discussion at the bottom of the sea.  Fish love to eat worms, and one of them, named Frank, is tempted to open the worms with a can opener. He appears to have missed the fishing line attached to the can.
The other, smarter fish, is warning Frank that opening the can of worms could mean a lot of trouble. Frank should listen to his friend's warning, unless he wants to be somebody’s dinner! The idiomatic meaning of 'open a can of worms' is to create a situation which leads to trouble. Let's take a look at this idiom in a conversation:

Hey, Simon. Is Janine invited to your sister's wedding?
Sure. Why not?
Well ... Rhys is going to be there too.
So?
Isn't that going to open a can of worms?
What do you mean?
They haven't spoken to each other since they broke up!
Oh, you're right! And they often fight.

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