open the floodgates

idiom

: to remove something serving to restrain an outburst

Many people fear that the court's latest ruling will open the floodgates for/to a host of new lawsuits.

Examples of open the floodgates in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The onslaught seemed to open the floodgates for a larger critique of her delivery—while well-articulated, can be razor sharp and unpalatable. —

Jasmine Browley, Essence, 21 Mar. 2024 Time will tell whether the ICJ’s decision to open the floodgates to more cases means better protections of human rights or more politicized lawsuits by states. —

Jill Goldenziel, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Lovich backed that up with a three-run homer, his first as a Razorback, to open the floodgates. —

Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 11 Mar. 2024 The lengthy flight duration, emotive movie plotlines, and a certain amount of anonymity is a sure-fire way to open the floodgates. —

Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for open the floodgates

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'open the floodgates.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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“Open the floodgates.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open%20the%20floodgates. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

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