ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rat's nest

idiom
Meaning

Something that is excessively complicated, entangled, or disorderly (either physically or metaphorically).


Examples
SIMPLE

My desk drawer is a total rat's nest of tangled cables.

CONTEXTUAL

The legal contract was such a rat's nest of confusing clauses that we had to hire a lawyer to explain it.

COMPLEX

After years of poor management, the company's financial records had become a complete rat's nest that took months for the auditors to untangle.

Anchors to
Related idioms5entries
  1. 01

    feather one's nest

    To achieve benefits, especially financial ones, by taking advantage of the opportunities with which one is presented; to amass a comfortable amount of personal wealth; especially, to do so to a degree that involves venality.

  2. 02

    give a rat's arse

    To care a minimum amount; to have or show minimal interest

  3. 03

    hurrah's nest

    pandemonium (state of chaos and confusion).

  4. 04

    leave the nest

    To leave home; to stop living with one's parents.

  5. 05

    love nest

    A residence, especially a condominium or cabin, where a couple (particularly a newly cohabiting or married couple) can enjoy each other's company.

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