start a mess

Frequency: 6.57.2 per million words

to be the initial cause of a difficult or chaotic situation

messVERB + mess

Categories:

start

Examples (10)

  • You started this entire mess!
  • His impulsive decision could start a huge mess.
  • Don't start a mess that you can't clean up.
  • One small lie can start an irreversible mess.
  • She accidentally started a mess with her careless words.
  • Who's going to clean up the mess you started?
  • The new policy might start a bureaucratic mess.
  • They fear that their actions will start a diplomatic mess.
  • Trying to fix one problem often starts another mess.
  • We need to prevent anything that could start a legal mess.