Aladdin's lamp

Cultural  

1. The subject of a story in the Arabian Nights. The young boy Aladdin acquires a magic lamp that, when rubbed, brings forth a genie, who grants Aladdin's wishes to win the hand of the sultan's daughter and to build a palace. The magician who first gave Aladdin the lamp steals it back, but Aladdin regains the lamp, and he and the sultan's daughter live happily ever after.

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Example Sentences

Cinderella's carriage and Aladdin's lamp are among a warehouse of pantomime props that were "abandoned" when the UK went into lockdown in March.

From BBC • Jul. 30, 2020

The adventure of space was also an Aladdin’s lamp of sorts.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 17, 2019

As terrifying as that ordeal undoubtedly was, Rushdie has now elaborately mythologized it by the light of Aladdin’s lamp, recasting the tension between superstition and reason as a series of magical tales.

From Washington Post • Sep. 1, 2015

“He makes his berth an Aladdin’s lamp, and lays him down in it,” Melville wrote, rhapsodizing about an oil “as sweet as early-grass butter in April.”

From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2010

Her letter was followed by a sad tale about the genie in Aladdin’s lamp.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine