English

Alternative forms

• set the cat among the pigeons

Verb

put the cat among the pigeons

1. (idiomatic) To cause alarm.
   • Professor Stephen Hawking put the cat among the pigeons last week with his cheery remarks about comet Machholz-2, which some astronomers believe could be heading our way. — The Times, 19 September 1994

See also

• flutter in the dovecote

References

• Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, 1996