sorcerer's apprentice
- noun
- /ˈsɔrsərz əˈprɛntɪs/
- Informal
:
aprendiz de hechicero
- Her attempts to fix the plumbing turned her into a sorcerer's apprentice, making the problem much worse.
Examples
-
The new manager became a sorcerer's apprentice when his reforms caused confusion among the staff.
-
When the computer started crashing, I felt like a sorcerer's apprentice overwhelmed by my own system changes.
-
He felt like a sorcerer's apprentice when the project spiraled out of control.
-
The young intern was a true sorcerer's apprentice in the chaotic office.
-
Her attempts to fix the plumbing turned her into a sorcerer's apprentice, making the problem much worse.
-
The new manager became a sorcerer's apprentice when his reforms caused confusion among the staff.
-
When the computer started crashing, I felt like a sorcerer's apprentice overwhelmed by my own system changes.
Antonyms
How In Control
∞
3.7
833
1.0
8
4.1
- Informal
305
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
sorcerer's + apprentice
A B1 learner who knows 'sorcerer' (a magic-user) and 'apprentice' (a trainee) can reconstruct the literal sense 'an apprentice of a sorcerer', so part of the meaning is transparent. However, the conventionalized idiomatic sense — someone who creates a situation they cannot control (from the famous tale/film) — is a culturally specific extension not fully predictable from the constituents and thus requires prior exposure.
Etymology
Sorcerer's apprentice comes from a famous old story and a well-known film where a young apprentice uses a sorcerer's magic without skill, so the magical brooms keep carrying water and the room floods. So, calling someone a sorcerer's apprentice means they have 'lost control' of a situation they started and made things worse.