upset the natives

Verb

upset the natives (third-person singular simple present upsets the natives, present participle upsetting the natives, simple past and past participle upset the natives)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see upset, native.
2. To offend local sensibilities.
   • I have learned the most about culture when I have been involved as a consultant in trying to help an organization deal with specific issues on which it needed some help. The issue here is that in the normal flow of things cultural data are unintentionally concealed; the "natives" are not conscious...2000, Neal M. Ashkanasy, Celeste P M Wilderom, Mark F. Peterson, Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate, →ISBN, page xxvi
   • Paolo had decided he needed a more mellow persona so as not to upset the natives, but one still different enough to fascinate them. So he quit being a skater and became a Deadhead.2001, Jacques Whitecloud, The Sin Eater, →ISBN, page 42