release the kraken

English

Etymology

From the 1981 film Clash of the Titans.

Verb

release the kraken (third-person singular simple present releases the kraken, present participle releasing the kraken, simple past and past participle released the kraken)

1. (informal, idiomatic) To unleash a greatly destructive force.
   • 2017, Lesley Paterson, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, VeloPress, →ISBN, page 171:

     Science now supports a cognitive appraisal model for understanding why some athletes can take everything in stride while others release the kraken.

   • 2019, Tess Gerritsen, The Shape of Night: The spine-tingling thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller, Random House, →ISBN, page 15:

     I haul the pet carrier into the house and release the kraken. Hannibal emerges from the cage, glares at me, and lumbers off toward the kitchen.

   • 2020, Greg Cox, The Librarians Trilogy: The Librarians and the Lost Lamp, The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase, The Librarians and the Pot of Gold, Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 237:

     "I believe we can safely pronounce the gods appeased." "So case closed?" Baird asked. "No more 'Release the Kraken' scenarios for the time being?" "I believe so."

   • 2021, Brad Raffensperger, quoting Sidney Powell, Integrity Counts, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 57:

     She also claimed that governors and secretaries of state had "financial interests" in the voting machine company, and that they or their families had been enriched because of it. "I'm going to release the kraken," she said.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see release,‎ Kraken.

Translations

to unleash a greatly destructive force

See also

• open Pandora's box
• Kraken