verb phrase🎓 English idiom

rock the boat

to cause trouble or disrupt a stable situation

What it means

To do or say something that disturbs a stable, settled situation and causes trouble. It is often used as a warning against upsetting an arrangement that is working smoothly.

Examples

  • He kept quiet about the problem rather than rock the boat with management.
  • Everyone agreed, and I didn't want to rock the boat by objecting.
  • Introducing big changes now might rock the boat with our loyal customers.
  • She's happy in her role and has no wish to rock the boat.

Where it comes from

An early 20th-century American expression evoking the danger of upsetting a small boat by moving suddenly and causing it to capsize.

Related idioms

#throw a wrench in the works#let sleeping dogs lie#get out of hand#in hot water

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