87
Can of Worms
Where does the
―
can of worms
‖
expression come from?
From the
Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings
by Gregory Y.
Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).
―
It
‘
s like opening a can of worms. This is a highly problematical situation
or complex problem. Broaching it may lead to utter chaos. The saying
originated in the United States in the mid-twentieth century and refers to
the live bait kept in jars or other containers by fishermen.
‖
From the
Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins
by William and Mary
Morris (HarperCollins, 1977, 1978):
―
Don
‘
t try to pass me that can of worms
‖
has been a staple item in the
jargon of advertising agency types for decades. The meaning is clear: don
‘
t
try to fob off a complicated, perplexing problem on me.
‖
