Pandora's box
21
8.2
- noun
- /pænˈdɔrz bɑks/
- Literature
:
caja de Pandora
- Some Communist Party leaders warned that free elections would open a Pandora's box.
- open Pandora's box
Examples
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Opening Pandora's box often leads to unintended consequences that no one expects.
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Do you think you can just open Pandora's Box and then just close it again?
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Or do you think once that Pandora's box was opened, there was no looking back?
Blog text (29) -
But now that this Pandora's Box has been opened, there is no closing it.
Academic text (1999) -
In doing so, intentionally or otherwise, Israel opened a Pandora's box.
Academic text (1996) -
Europe's expansion had opened a Pandora's box of diseases.
Academic text (1992) -
Finally, even if the Afghan approach succeeded, it might open up a Pandora's box of new troubles.
Academic text (1999) -
You've opened Pandora's box.
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The new policy created a Pandora's box of legal issues for the company.
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Once they started discussing the controversial topic, it felt like they had opened Pandora's box.
How Troublesome
176
7.0
- Literature
21
8.2
- Informal
17
6.5
∞
1.2
- Informal
115
3.5
∞
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Pandora's + box
The meaning 'a source of unexpected and widespread trouble' cannot be derived from the literal parts: 'box' is just a container and 'Pandora's' is a mythological name whose connotations require cultural knowledge of the Pandora story. Without prior exposure to that myth (which a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words is unlikely to have), the phrase is unpredictable and idiomatic.
Etymology
Pandora's box comes from an old Greek story. One popular story says a woman named Pandora opened a closed box, and all the world's troubles flew out while only hope stayed inside, so today Pandora's box means 'a source of many unexpected problems'.