The Worm is Starting to Turn

[Irina Ponomareva]

To all the idiom lovers, here is another good one.

"The worm is starting to turn"

Means that a person who had been meek and apparently content to put up with the circumstances suddenly gets fed up and shows the first signs of rebelling.

What usually triggers such an event is what is called "the last straw", and that's another idiom.

[Irina Ponomareva]

Yes. Gladys Mitchell was a particular fan of this idiom. I think I have seen all possible variations in her books.

[Laury Burr]

You can also have "the worm has turned".

[Irina Ponomareva]

Yes, sort of.

[Victor Zamorano]

The last straw is "la gota que colma el vaso", I think...