Pandora's box en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Meanings
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(idiomatic) A source of unforeseen trouble; especially, one whose effects cannot be reversed.
There was an evil in Pandora's box Beyond all other ones, yet it came forth In guise so lovely, that men crowded round And sought it as the dearest of all treasure.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Morality of Diamonds”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 16:The first thing it did was to spawn a whole Pandora's box of DNA viruses—smallpox, influenza and so on.
1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, pages 396–397:We have opened the AI Pandora’s box. Now we have to make the best of it.
2026 June 16, Bruce Schneier, “The Anthropic ‘Fable’ saga proves: we have opened the AI Pandora’s box. What now?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pandora's boxes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
can of worms · open Pandora's box · genie is out of the bottle · tar baby · kettle of fish
Synonyms
Translations (49)
lv Pandoras lāde (a source of unforeseen trouble) · cs Pandořina skříňka (a source of unforeseen trouble) · mk Пандорина кутија (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ja パンドーラーの箱 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ja 玉手箱 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · eo skatolo de Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · uk скринька Пандори (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ru я́щик Пандо́ры (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ko 판도라의 함 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · hu Pandóra szelencéje (a source of unforeseen trouble) · fo eskjan hjá Pandoru (a source of unforeseen trouble) · bg кутията на Пандора (a source of unforeseen trouble) · sv pandorasask (a source of unforeseen trouble) · pt caixa de Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ko 판도라의 상자 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · el κουτί της Πανδώρας (a source of unforeseen trouble) · hy Պանդորայի արկղ (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ka პანდორას ყუთი (a source of unforeseen trouble) · is askja Pandóru (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ca capsa de Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · cmn 災難之源 /灾难之源 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · hi पैन्डोरा का बॉक्स (a source of unforeseen trouble) · oc boita de Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · pa ਪੰਡੋਰਾ ਦਾ ਡੱਬਾ (a source of unforeseen trouble) · fi Pandoran lipas (a source of unforeseen trouble) · tr Pandora'nın kutusu (a source of unforeseen trouble) · nl doos van Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · vi chiếc hộp Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · de Pandorabüchse (a source of unforeseen trouble) · kk Пандора қалбыры (a source of unforeseen trouble) · pl puszka Pandory (a source of unforeseen trouble) · uz Pandora qutisi (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ro cutia Pandorei (a source of unforeseen trouble) · it vaso di Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ba Пандора ҡумтаһы (a source of unforeseen trouble) · no pandoraeske (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ta பண்டோராவின் பெட்டி (a source of unforeseen trouble) · sq kutia e Pandorës (a source of unforeseen trouble) · sv Pandoras ask (a source of unforeseen trouble) · de Büchse der Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · fr boîte de Pandore (a source of unforeseen trouble) · he תיבת פנדורה (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ko 판도라의 항아리 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · ja パンドラの箱 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · hy Պանդորայի տուփ (a source of unforeseen trouble) · cmn 潘多拉魔盒 (a source of unforeseen trouble) · da Pandoras æske (a source of unforeseen trouble) · es caja de Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble) · id kotak Pandora (a source of unforeseen trouble)