IdiomDaily Life
English
EnglishPandora's box
Meaning: A situation that contains many unexpected and unwanted problems and consequences.
Example: “Asking who paid for the wedding opened Pandora's box.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: La boîte de Pandore Literally: Pandora's box
Origin: From Greek myth. Hesiod tells how the gods gave Pandora, the first woman, a jar (not a box) holding all the evils of the world; when she opened it, they escaped, leaving only hope inside. The jar became a box through Erasmus's 16th-century Latin retelling.
More English idioms
- peter out To disappear gradually.
- pinch pennies To be very careful with one's money; to be concerned about how one spends every penny.
- pink slip Notice that one has been fired from one's job.
- play hardball To work or act aggressively, competitively, or ruthlessly, as in business or politics.
- play one's cards right To do all the right things and make all the right moves in order to achieve some end.
- play second fiddle To be in a subordinate position; to have a lower rank or standing than someone else.
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