open Pandora's box



open Pandora's box

Fig. to uncover a lot of unsuspected problems. When I asked Jane about her problems, I didn't know I had opened Pandora's box. You should be cautious with people who are upset. You don't want to open Pandora's box.
See also: box, open

open (a) Pandora's box

to start something that causes many new and unexpected problems They worry that any decision they make about testing will open a Pandora's box. What kind of Pandora's box do we open if we decide not arrest people who have committed a crime?
Etymology: based on an old Greek story in which a woman named Pandora opened a box containing all the troubles the world has experienced
See also: box, open

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Eliseus-Biblical Latin
Yumiyoo-meeJapanese
Aroldoah-ROL-doItalian
ClementKLE-məntEnglish
Sunil-Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Nep
Pradeep-Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali