To poke the bear means to intentionally irritate or bother someone, especially someone more powerful than you, and risk provoking their anger or causing problems. The expression comes from the imagery of what would happen if a person literally poked a bear. People often use this expression in the negative statement don’t poke the bear, meaning don’t do something that might upset someone or make them angry. Another similar expression is don’t poke the dragon.
Some examples of using this idiom are:
- He attacked his colleagues for not wanting to poke the bear, referring to them not wanting to confront the president.
- Trust me. It wouldn’t be a calm discussion at all. Don’t poke the bear. It will just make them fight again.
