rear/raise its ugly head

idiom

—used to say that something bad appears and causes trouble usually after not occurring for a period of time

Inflation threatened to rear its ugly head.

I knew that the leak we patched would eventually raise its ugly head.

Examples of rear/raise its ugly head in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dramamine Non-drowsy Medication Motion sickness can rear its ugly head during the most inopportune times, so Stuckey recommends stocking up on a non-drowsy Dramamine ahead of your next flight to nip this issue in the bud. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 14 Oct. 2023

So, everyone waited for pride to rear its ugly head and the Writers Guild to snap back. —Anonymous, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sep. 2023

The prevalence of garbage-in garbage-out (GIGO) can rear its ugly head. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 July 2023

Here’s hoping the Curse won’t rear its ugly head this year. —Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2023

That dreadful anxiety started to rear its ugly head as the European woman got closer to her destination but seeing the various shades of green that went on forever, only momentarily broken up by the mountain peaks, gave her the courage to continue. —Cathrine Todd, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023

Even after the initial wave subsided in 1352, the plague continued to rear its ugly head for the next five centuries, periodically decimating cities in its wake. —Jason P. Dinh, Discover Magazine, 15 June 2022

Another way decision fatigue can rear its ugly head is in the perception that every meal has to accomplish multiple things. —Casey Barber, CNN, 4 May 2022

Season after season, parents and particularly mothers waited restlessly for the measles season to rear its ugly head. —Star Tribune, 14 July 2021