sow the seeds of

sow the seeds of (third-person singular simple present sows the seeds of, present participle sowing the seeds of, simple past sowed the seeds of, past participle sown the seeds of)

1. To do something which will eventually bring about a particular result.
   • 2023 April 5, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Pay deal a positive result”, in RAIL, number 980, page 3:

     I welcome the deal, but hope the continuing disagreements about modernisation do not sow the seeds of the next dispute.

• “sow the seeds of something”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “sow-the-seeds-of-something-sow-the-seeds-for-something”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “plant/sow the seeds of”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.