Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A hoax or fraud.
- n. An extraordinarily complicated situation.
Wiktionary
- n. A great discovery which turns out to be illusory; a hoax.
- n. A confused or complicated situation; a muddle.
Etymologies
- From mare's + nest. Compare horse-nest. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“I'd had one opportunity to use the power of dream-walking and I'd made a mare's nest of it.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mare's nest’.
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♗
euonym, eidolon, aurulent, sable-vested, aether, seraph, woodwose, je ne sais quoi, silver-tongued, schadenfreude, cri de coeur, mare's nest and 10 more...
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Quandary
mare's nest, conundrum, riddle, pickle, stumper, imbroglio, quandary, quagmire, dilemma, puzzle, enigma, arcanum and 4 more...
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that's just beastly!
cat-o-nine-tails, snake in the grass, puppy love, white elephant, crocodile tears, monkey business, keep the wolf fro..., culture vulture, black sheep of th..., scapegoat, ugly duckling, swan song and 260 more...
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Noah's Park
Hello, and Welcome™! Come and visit our most diverse land of our Animalesque™ adventures. Here at Noah's Park™ we have Virtually All You'd Ever Want To See™. An experience that is related to ani...
sheep's eyes, doe-eyed, cat-eyed, bug-eyed, cat's paw, black swan, leapfrog, menagerie, cold turkey, card shark, snail's pace, bull's eye and 362 more...
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avawake's list
elpis, transient, anon, remeet, orerry, fitfull, benediction, infinitum, ad, ananym, halcyon, bird and 93 more...
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favorite words
sawbones, grackle, celadon, brio, loam, trull, mint, saliva, serape, frisson, impasto, reek and 547 more...
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Animalia Wordia
Words or short phrases with animal names in them. Since I already have a dedicated list for 'monkey' words I shall leave them out of this one for the moment.
paper tiger, pigeon-hearted, lion-hearted, sacred cow, chicken heart, fraidy cat, scaredy-cat, snake oil, can of worms, snake pit, rat's nest, stool pigeon and 114 more...
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X's Y, where X is not somebody's name
Somebody must already have a list like this. But I'm bored, so I'm going to start my own.
cat's pajamas, bee's knees, mare's nest, lion's share, snowball's chance..., widow's peak, busman's holiday, devil's advocate, greengrocer's apo..., baker's dozen, curate's egg, pope's nose and 224 more...
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technomom's Words
misology, sacerdotal, omphaloskepsis, jimjams, incunabulum, repose, trecento, chimera, tridecennary, tenebrous, purblind, floruit and 207 more...
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quandary
conundrums, posers, and baffling situations
quandary, conundrum, baffle, bewilder, snarl, closed book, perplex, imbroglio, mystify, bind, plight, brain teaser and 36 more...
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a ruse by any other name
design, ruse, subterfuge, plot, ploy, cunning plan, strategem, scheme, conspiracy, intrigue, contrivance, treachery and 51 more...
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This List Could Choke a Horse
horse-drawn, horse chestnut, horseless carriage, saddle horse, light horse, pommel horse, horsepower, hobbyhorse, hobby-horse, rocking horse, iron horse, flying horse and 82 more...
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What's the Sitch?
Situations.
Gordian knot, mare's nest, horse-net, rigmarole, maze, labyrinth, mizmaze, clusterfuck, egg-dance, Chinese puzzle, imbroglio, hydra and 29 more...
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M is for Miss Scarlet
My M Words
macaroni, mad hatter, madcap, malarkey, margarita, marmalade, maverick, mekka-lekka hi me..., minx, miss scarlet, mister, mister splashy pants and 80 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for mare's nest.

whichbe A mare's nest is an illusion or disappointment. The phrase originally started as "horse nest". The meaning comes from the fact that mares don't make nests; therefore, if someone claims to find one, it is an illusion. Aug 1, 2008