Down the rabbit hole= always negative?

[Ashraful Haque]

According to a dictionary 'go down the rabbit hole' means,
"To enter into a situation or begin a process or journey that is particularly strange, problematic, difficult, complex, or chaotic, especially one that becomes increasingly so as it develops or unfolds"

Do we use 'down the rabbit hole' only to talk about problematic situations?

"Once I started to enjoy learning about Aristotle, I went down the rabbit hole of collecting every single book that has been written about him." (Don't know it makes sense. Made it up just like that.)

I know it's talking about a problematic situation (collecting every book about Aristotle), but as mentioned, this person enjoys learning about the philosopher.

 

[Tarheel]

It's not part of my active vocaabulary. If I heard it used I would think the person was talking about a situation that is not entirely under their control.

(It's probably based on "Alice in Wonderland".)

 

[jutfrank]

Do you know where the phrase originally comes from? It's from one of the most famous books in the English language. I think it might be a good idea if you can understand that first.


Edit: Okay, Tarheel pipped me to the post and gave away the reference.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Do you know where the phrase originally comes from? It's from one of the most famous books in the English language. I think it might be a good idea if you can understand that first.


Edit: Okay, Tarheel pipped me to the post and gave away the reference.

Yes. I saw the cartoon when I was younger.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

It's not part of my active vocaabulary. If I heard it used I would think the person was talking about a situation that is not entirely under their control.

(It's probably based on "Alice in Wonderland".)

Would I sound weird if I said it in a casual conversation?

 

[Rover_KE]

If you said it in the right context you‘d sound very knowledgeable.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

If you said it in the right context you‘d sound very knowledgeable.

I actually used it while I was giving advice to someone.
"Starting a business is very stressful. There's no weekend, no going out with friends or vacation. So go ahead only if you're sure that you're ready to dive down the rabbit hole."

 

[Tarheel]

@Ashraful Haque Did they understand what you meant? (A nonnative speaker would probably be perplexed.)

 

[Ashraful Haque]

@Ashraful Haque Did they understand what you meant? (A nonnative speaker would probably be perplexed.)

Well, I would say she did from the context at least. I know I would even if I didn't know what it meant.
Did it sound too bookish/formal?

 

[Tarheel]

@Ashraful Haque Context can be very helpful.

I only meant that a non-native speaker would be unlikely to know what that referred to. It is neither bookish nor formal.

 

[probus]

The idiom means that what one apparently intends to do may well lead to strange and unexpected consequences and adventures, as it did for Alice. Whether that is positive or negative depends on what the person is looking for. The enormous wordwide market for alcoholic drinks, cannabis, and other intoxicants shows that many people enjoy messing with their brain chemistry.