Abrir ese melón

/a·ˈβɾiɾ ˈe·se me·ˈlon/

To open that melon.

Frequency

ConversationCommon

JournalismVery common

LiteraryOccasional

AcademicRare

In English

to open a can of worms; **to open a can of worms**; **to open that can of worms**; **to bring up that subject**; **to go there**; **to open up a whole can of worms**; **to raise a controversial issue**

Meaning

Abrir ese melón means to bring up a complicated, controversial or potentially troublesome subject, especially one that could lead to a long or difficult discussion.

Examples

No quiero abrir ese melón ahora.

I don't want to open that can of worms right now.

Si empezamos a hablar de su sueldo, vamos a abrir ese melón.

If we start talking about his salary, we're going to open a whole can of worms.

El periodista abrió ese melón durante la entrevista.

The journalist raised that controversial issue during the interview.

Mejor no abrir ese melón, porque tenemos opiniones muy diferentes.

We'd better not go there; we have very different opinions about it.

Ya que has abierto ese melón, habrá que hablar de ello.

Now that you've opened that can of worms, we'll have to talk about it.

¿De verdad quieres abrir ese melón?

Do you really want to go there?

It is often used when someone suggests discussing an issue that has many implications, conflicting opinions or unpleasant consequences.

A common construction is:

Abrir ese melón.

→ To open that can of worms / to bring up that subject.

Used when

introduces a controversial topic
raises an issue that has been deliberately avoided
starts a complicated debate
brings up an uncomfortable question
opens a discussion that could become difficult or endless

Origin

The expression is based on the literal act of opening a melon.

A melon cannot easily be judged from the outside: until it is opened, you do not know exactly what is inside or whether it will be good.

This uncertainty provides the metaphor. Abrir un melón means opening up an issue whose consequences, complications or contents are not entirely predictable.

The expression is a relatively modern colloquial metaphor.

Cultural note

The expression is particularly useful because it does not necessarily imply that the subject is bad or controversial. It suggests that it is complicated and likely to generate further discussion.

For example:

Si hablamos de la reforma educativa, abrimos un melón bastante grande.

This suggests:

"That's a huge and complicated subject, and once we start talking about it, there will be a lot to discuss."

The expression can therefore be used with a humorous tone.

Did you know?

Spanish speakers often use melón metaphorically to refer to a subject that contains many different issues waiting to be unpacked.

This particularly useful expression:

Abrir un melón.

→ To open a can of worms.

It can be modified with an adjective to indicate the scale or nature of the issue:

Abrir un melón enorme.

→ To open a huge can of worms.

Abrir un melón complicado.

→ To open up a complicated issue.

Abrir otro melón.

→ To raise another whole issue,

which is especially common when a discussion keeps generating new related problems or questions.

For English speakers

The most natural English equivalent is:

to open a can of worms

For example:

No quiero abrir ese melón.

→ I don't want to open that can of worms.

But Spanish can also use the expression more neutrally:

Abrir el melón de la financiación.

→ To open up the issue of funding.

English would not necessarily use can of worms in every such context.