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- Dictionarymare's nest
noun
- 1. a complex or confused situation; a muddle: "your desk's usually a mare's nest"
- 2. an illusory discovery: "the mare's nest of perfect safety"
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The meaning of MARE'S NEST is a false discovery, illusion, or deliberate hoax. How to use mare's nest in a sentence.
What's the meaning of the phrase 'Mare's nest'? A much vaunted discovery, which later turns out to be illusory or worthless. What's the origin of the phrase 'Mare's nest'? There are two unrelated meanings of ‘mare’s nest’ in circulation, and there’s little to connect them.
A mare's nest is here being used to symbolize something that does not exist, as horses do not make nests. The phrase is first recorded in the late 16th century, as is the variant a horse's nest , although the latter is now no longer in use.
noun. 1. something imagined to be an extraordinary discovery but proving to be a delusion or a hoax. The announced cure for the disease was merely another mare's-nest. 2. an extremely confused, entangled, or disordered place, situation, etc. We just moved in, and the place is a mare's-nest.
Idioms. Mare's nest meaning. What does the saying 'Mare's nest' mean? Idiom: Mare's nest. Meaning: A mare's nest is a complicated or confused situation, a mess. Country: International English | Subject Area: Animals | Usage Type: Both or All Words Used. Contributor: Richard Flynn.
Mare's-nest definition: something imagined to be an extraordinary discovery but proving to be a delusion or a hoax. See examples of MARE'S-NEST used in a sentence.
A mare’s nest is a hoax, an illusion or a confused and illogical mess. The expression dates from the early 17th century and is preceded by an earlier expression, a horse’ nest, which means the same thing.
Jun 2, 2024 · mare 's nest (plural mare's nests or mares' nests) 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? A confused or complicated situation; a muddle.
A mare's nest is here being used to symbolize something that does not exist, as horses do not make nests. The phrase is first recorded in the late 16th century, as is the variant a horse's nest , although the latter is now no longer in use.
The earliest known use of the noun mare's nest is in the late 1500s. OED's earliest evidence for mare's nest is from 1576, in a translation by R. Peterson. mare's nest is formed within English, by compounding.
