0 a situation or a place that could easily become extremely dangerous:
1 a situation that is dangerous and that could become violent:
The expellees would otherwise become a potential social and political powder keg, the source of 'political and economic' unrest.
If we block this prospect, we shall be storing up a powder keg.
We are sitting on a powder keg of outdated nuclear installations.
I beg them not to ignite the powder keg that is smouldering in the countryside.
Those two problems form a double powder keg in the region.
Whoever denies this might well be the one to light the fuse to the powder keg.
It is an area which may yet become a powder keg for security policy in that area, and perhaps also in our own area.
I am frankly astounded by the powder keg of views which the pilots hold which appear to have no expression upwards at all.
