英和和英

発音

動詞

put the cat among the pigeons (三人称単数 現在形 puts the cat among the pigeons, 現在分詞 putting the cat among the pigeons, 過去形および過去分詞形 put the cat among the pigeons)

1. (figurative) To cause alarm, fuss, or agitation.
   • 1994 September 19, The Times:

     Professor Stephen Hawking put the cat among the pigeons last week with his cheery remarks about comet Machholz-2, which some astronomers believe could be heading our way.

   • 2023 September 2, Simon Schama, “The real Rino”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 2:

     In any event, this professorial detonation, especially coming as it does from hardline Federalist Society constitutional originalists, has set the cat among the Republican pigeons.

参考

• flutter in the dovecote

参照

• Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, 1996