poke the bear что это
Poke the bear что это
Cause unnecessary strife or conflict. For example, if you didn’t like your sister’s boyfriend but had to no reason to dislike him, starting a fight with him would be «poking the bear.»
Символ показывает уровень знания интересующего вас языка и вашу подготовку. Выбирая ваш уровень знания языка, вы говорите пользователям как им нужно писать, чтобы вы могли их понять.
Мне трудно понимать даже короткие ответы на данном языке.
Могу задавать простые вопросы и понимаю простые ответы.
Могу формулировать все виды общих вопросов. Понимаю ответы средней длины и сложности.
Понимаю ответы любой длины и сложности.
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What Does Poke the Bear Mean?
(Don’t) Poke the Bear Meaning
Definition: To do something that might provoke someone into becoming angry or causing problems.
People often use this in the negative statement don’t poke the bear. Another similar expression is don’t poke the dragon.
Origin of Poke the Bear
This expression comes from the imagery of what would happen if a person literally poked a bear.
Imagine if someone found a sleeping bear. That bear would remain harmless if the person left it alone. However, if the person walked over, poked the bear, and woke it up, it would start a big problem.
This expression gained popularity in the latter half of the 1900s.
Examples of Poke the Bear
In the example below, a husband and wife are talking about the husband’s parents.
Kip: My parents were fighting with each other again earlier today.
Caroline: Oh no. Maybe they just need someone to mediate. I’m going to offer to help them.
Kip: No, please don’t. They just stopped fighting an hour ago. They were just sitting quietly when I left their house.
Caroline: Are you sure? Maybe they just need to talk calmly about it.
Kip: Trust me. It wouldn’t be a calm discussion at all. Don’t poke the bear. It will just make them fight again.
The next example involves two friends who are studying for an exam.
Brian: I’m not sure how to do this problem.
Raj: Me neither. I think Stacy knows how to do it. Should we ask her?
Brian: I wish we could, but she’s busy working on her final project.
Raj: So? It’s just a quick question. It wouldn’t take her long to explain it to us, I’m sure.
Brian: It doesn’t matter. She hates being interrupted, especially when she’s on a tight deadline.
Raj: Well, how else are going to figure this out? I’m going to knock on her door.
Brian: No! Don’t poke the bear. We’ll ask her when she’s done. We’ll work on the other problems until then.
More Examples
This excerpt is from an article about ISIS committing vandalism by destroying ancient art.
This is an excerpt about the importance of sometimes trying to provoke someone through political satire.
Summary
The phrase poke the bear means disturbing someone and thusly causing trouble.