a powder keg

a situation that could suddenly become extremely dangerous

Usage notes: A powder keg was a wooden container for gunpowder (= a substance used for making explosions).

We left just before the revolution, realizing that we were sitting on a powder keg.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Issur	-	Yiddish
Aspasia	-	Ancient Greek
Abiodun	-	Western African, Yoruba
Darina (1)	-	Irish
Lorie	LAWR-ee	English
SeanÁN	-	Irish