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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

poke the bear en · VERB

Pronunciation

Etymology

The second sense refers to the use of bears to represent Russia, as a shortening of the idiom "poke the Russian bear" (to anger or threaten Russia and start a war with Russia).

Meanings

  1. (US, idiomatic) To deliberately aggravate somebody, especially somebody in a position of power or authority.
    • His advice to Zuckerberg, the Times later reported, was “Don’t poke the bear”—avoid incurring the wrath of Trump and his supporters. 2020 October 12, Andrew Marantz, “Why Facebook Can’t Fix Itself”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 01 Nov 2020:
    • Throughout my training I witnessed several doctors run out of town because their honesty and outspokenness began to poke the bear. 2012, Marty Makary, Unaccountable, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN, page 17:
  2. (idiomatic, slang) To deliberately anger Russia or the Russian government.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
pokes the bear Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
poking the bear Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
poked the bear Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
poked the bear Tense=Past lexicographic

Relateds

bearbaiting · when you mess with the bull, you get the horns · ruffle some feathers