hornet's nest

/ˌhɔː.nɪts ˈnest/

a very difficult or unpleasant situation, especially in which a lot of people get very angry and complain

(尤指引起公愤的)麻烦，困境

stir up

激起;煽动;搅拌;唤起

stir up a hornet's nest

捅马蜂窝

Why are you trying to stir up a hornet's nest?

你为什么要去捅马蜂窝呢?

His remarks about the lack of good women tennis players stirred up a (real) hornet's nest.

他那番关于缺少优秀女子网球选手的言论可真是捅了马蜂窝。