English / proverb
If You Mess with the Bull, You Get the Horns
MEANING IN ENGLISH
If you provoke, attack, or challenge a formidable opponent, you will face swift and painful retaliation
In context
01
When the rival corporation launched a smear campaign, our legal team countersued aggressively—if you mess with the bull, you get the horns.
02
The aggressor was shocked by how fiercely the community fought back, proving that if you mess with the bull, you get the horns.
Synonyms
face retaliation,reap retribution,suffer counterattack
Antonyms
escape unscathed,face no resistance,evade retribution
Collocations
warn that if you mess with the bull,prove that if you mess with the bull,realize that if you mess with the bull