What it means
Means deliberately saying or doing something to keep an argument or a bit of drama bubbling along, usually for your own quiet entertainment. The pot stirrer is rarely in the fight, they just love poking at it. You will spot them in group chats and at family dinners, wide eyed and innocent while everyone else kicks off.
Usage examples
"He loves to stir the pot, drops one cheeky line about the football, then sits back and watches the whole table go off."
"She never picks the fight herself, she just stirs the pot with one loaded question and lets the group chat melt down."
"Stop stirring the pot at dinner, you know exactly what happens when you bring up politics with Grandad."
"Don't start stirring the pot in the work chat, mate. One little comment about bonuses and now everyone's kicking off."
"My cousin lives for it. He'll stir the pot at Christmas, mention the old family fallout, then sit there smiling into his drink."
Where it comes from
It comes from literal cooking. If you stir a pot, you keep what's inside moving and stop it settling. English started using that kitchen image figuratively for trouble and arguments by the nineteenth century, and from there stir the pot became the go-to line for nudging drama back into motion.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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