Idiom
Stir the pot
To stir the pot is to cause trouble or arguments on purpose, often by saying something that gets people upset or excited.
How people use it
People use it for someone who enjoys provoking reactions: in a group chat, at a family dinner, in an office or online. A person who does this often is sometimes called a pot-stirrer. It is informal and usually critical, though friends may use it jokingly. Some people use it more positively to mean shaking up a dull situation to get ideas moving, so context matters. It is close in meaning to rock the boat, though rocking the boat is not always deliberate.
Examples
- Leo likes to stir the pot by bringing up old family arguments at holiday dinners.
- Please don't stir the pot in the group chat; everyone is already tense.
- Ana wasn't trying to stir the pot; she just asked why the schedule changed.
Where it comes from
The image is a cook stirring a pot so that what has settled at the bottom rises to the top. In the same way, a person who stirs the pot brings old issues and strong feelings to the surface. Using stir for causing trouble is centuries old, and the pot phrase became common in the 1900s, especially in American English.
Check yourself
1. If a coworker likes to stir the pot, what does she do?
Answer: She causes arguments on purpose. Stirring the pot means stirring up trouble or strong reactions.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Sam stirred the pot by posting a rude comment about the referee.. Stirring the pot means provoking people, which a rude comment does.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in POT.