to stir the pot
8
8.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
provocar
- Once in a while, I stir the pot to get debate going.
- want to stir the pot
- keep stirring the pot
- need to stir the pot
So I don't want to like stir the pot by putting myself out there.
- So I don't want to like stir the pot by putting myself out there.
- He's good at stirring the pot and like getting views and making his songs go viral.
- I I do think he maybe was thinking that, but I think he just didn't want to stir the pot because she was the other woman.
- It was to stir the pot to get some drama going to come out as the hero.
- No, he doesn't like when you try to stir the pot or have an opinion or have feelings or have a voice.
- Maybe you're surrounded by people who are constantly gossiping and rumoring and and just stirring the pot, right?
- But I just read the part where Reese shows up at the Supreme Court, obviously, and he basically stirs the pot and then dips.
- Like, I don't want to stir the pot here, but by the way, kids are having memories that we can not explain whatsoever.
- And and so like I said, the bad marriages, if they're not going to take the opportunity to make them good, they're gonna like it's gonna, it's gonna stir the pot, right.
Examples
-
Just stir the pot and they'll come looking for you.
-
The man does nothing but throw stones and stir the pot, and yet people listen and believe him.
Blog text (6) -
Really just asking, not trying to stir the pot in a negative way.
Blog text (32) -
You like to stir the pot, but so what?
Blog text (34) -
You just love stirring the pot.
-
"I actually enjoy stirring the pot as much as anyone.
Blog text (23) -
Is it that you just like stirring the pot?
Blog text (5) -
You are just trying to stir the pot with something you believe to be politically incorrect.
Blog text (22) -
Way to go, Anonymous, for escalating the conflict and doing everything in your power to stir the pot!
Blog text (12) -
He loves to stir the pot during meetings to provoke lively discussions.
Synonyms
165
4.8
To start a fight or argument by annoying someone
144
3.6
Annoy someone again and again to make them react
131
3.7
To make someone feel a strong emotion
103
3.2
To do things that make problems for other people
72
7.7
To push people to do violent or illegal acts
48
4.8
To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear
36
6.9
To cause something bad to start
20
5.3
Do or say something that causes trouble and upsets other people
13
7.6
To cause people to argue or become divided on purpose
12
4.9
To get attention or cause trouble by changing the usual way things are done
8
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
8
7.2
To make an argument or feeling worse by encouraging it
6
9.4
To speak in a way that stirs up people's fears to win support
6
4.0
Make people feel excited or upset and attract attention
5
5.3
To cause fights or problems between people on purpose
4
5.8
Make many people very angry
2
8.6
Making ordinary people angry or excited about politics
2
3.7
To make people start talking and disagree about a topic
1
4.8
Causing annoyance or anger in someone
1
7.0
To cause many people to show strong public anger or criticism
1
3.7
To cause people to start a strong, lively discussion
1
7.4
Make people more angry and cause conflict between groups
1
9.9
To say or do things to make others angry and start fights
1
7.7
To make many people feel angry or shocked about something
1
5.4
Cause strong arguments about a topic, often on public issues
1
7.3
Make a bad situation worse by what you say or do
To say or do things that cause arguments and make people angry
To cause trouble between people to get attention
The act of causing strong, often angry feelings in people
To cause disagreement between people or groups
To make people argue or fight
To say or do something that causes strong reactions and confusion among people
To cause a lot of trouble and anger among people
Suddenly bring up a shocking topic to change the tone of a discussion
To cause a strong public argument that divides people
Antonyms
How Provocative
- NSFW
72
7.7
11
5.6
- Informal
8
8.0
∞
3.2
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
stir + the + pot
The phrase uses a clear metaphor: 'stir' means to agitate and 'pot' is a container, so learners can plausibly infer a sense of causing agitation or mixing things up. However, mapping the physical image to the social meaning (deliberately provoking controversy within a group) requires a figurative leap and some cultural/pragmatic knowledge, so it is not fully compositional for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The idiom stir the pot comes from cooking: when you stir a pot, the ingredients move, bubble and can make a mess. So, someone who 'stirs the pot' does this on purpose to make people react and cause trouble or drama.