Difficulty - Adding Complexity

Dive into English idioms that relate to adding complexity, like "muddy the waters" and "fly in the ointment".

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to [cook] {one's} goose [phrase]

to prevent someone from achieving success by destroying their plans

Ex: Mary 's constant tardiness and poor work ethic cooked her goose , and she was eventually fired from her job .

to [give] {sb} enough rope to hang {oneself} [phrase]

to give someone an opportunity to act freely with the intention of hurting them

Ex:

to [play] hard to get [phrase]

to not easily give a person something that they need or want from one

Ex: The candidate played hard to get during the job interview , not immediately accepting the offer , which made the employer appreciate their qualifications even more .

to [queer] {one's} pitch [phrase]

to prevent someone from achieving what they want by creating problems for them

Ex: Lisa felt someone was trying to queer her pitch when her presentation was unexpectedly rescheduled .

to [rain] on {one's} parade [phrase]

to ruin what someone has planned or not allow them enjoy something

Ex: Emily 's enthusiasm for the school play was infectious until her friend began to rain on her parade by saying the lead role was too demanding for her .

to [throw] a (monkey|) wrench (into|in) the works [phrase]

to slow down a plan or activity or prevent it from going on

Ex: The sudden change in regulations right before the product launch threw a wrench into the works for the marketing team .

to [tie] {oneself} (up|) (in|into) knots [phrase]

to do something that makes oneself overly worried or confused

Ex: The mayor tied himself up in knots answering a touchy political question .

to [upset|overturn] the apple cart [phrase]

to cause problems, often by ruining or interrupting something that was planned

Ex: Sarah 's decision to quit her job and travel the world upset the apple cart for her family , who were relying on her income .

to [muddy] the (waters|issue) [phrase]

to complicate a simple situation

Ex: The heated argument between the politicians further muddied the waters of the already complex policy discussion .

to [put] the kibosh on {sth} [phrase]

to make an attempt to prevent something from continuing or happening

Ex: The unexpected budget cuts put the kibosh on the company 's expansion plans .

to [knock] the (wind|breath|stuffing) out of {sb} [phrase]

to do something, particularly something others do not expect, in order to make them feel less confident or important

Ex:

to [cast] a (shadow|cloud) (over|on) {sth} [phrase]

to create a sense of negativity and hopelessness regarding a particular thing or situation

Ex: The scandal cast a shadow over the politician 's career , leading to a loss of public trust .

fly in the ointment [phrase]

a person or thing that ruins an otherwise positive or enjoyable situation

Ex: The only fly in the ointment during the vacation was the rainy weather .

to [put] a damper on {sth} [phrase]

to lessen or decrease the enjoyment, strength, or activity of something

Ex: Jane 's criticism during the meeting really put a damper on the team 's enthusiasm for the project .

to [take] the gilt off the gingerbread [phrase]

to cause something to be less enjoyable as it could be

Ex: The excessive work hours and stress took the gilt off the gingerbread of the high-paying job .

Difficulty
Hard Tasks	Difficult Challenges	Causing Difficulty	Troublemaking
Adding Complexity	Experiencing Difficulties	Facing Unpleasantness	Easy Tasks
Without Effort	Acceptance & Relief	Means & Solutions