the worm turns
used to describe when a person or group of people who have been treated badly for a long time suddenly become forceful and stop accepting a difficult situation:
It seems the worm has turned - after years of silence local people are beginning to protest about waste emissions from the factory.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Reacting and responding
- backlash
- bite
- bite back (at sb/sth)
- chain reaction
- counteract
- greet
- knob
- react
- reactive
- recoil
- reflexively
- respond
- response
- responsive
- rise
- sensitive
- shock wave
- strike
- wake (sb) up
- worm
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