monkey's paw
Americannoun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Barker combines the monkey’s paw and Pygmalion myths in this story about a young man who wishes that his dream girl would fall in love with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
In January, two more fingers curled on this TV monkey’s paw, starting with NBC’s “Night Court.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
But to the man who sold me this monkey’s paw: you were not clear enough on the fine print.
From The Verge ● Mar. 11, 2021
"Be careful what you wish for because the monkey's paw applies in politics….," he concluded.
From Fox News ● Feb. 24, 2020
Stepping back, he stood for several seconds looking at it; then he grinned and said, “Just to be sure that it won’t hurt a monkey’s paw, I think it should be tested out, don’t you?”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
