Pandora's box

American  

noun

1. a source of extensive but unforeseen troubles or problems.

   The senate investigation turned out to be a Pandora's box for the administration.

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Pandora's box Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, a box that Zeus gave to Pandora, the first woman, with strict instructions that she not open it. Pandora's curiosity soon got the better of her, and she opened the box. All the evils and miseries of the world flew out to afflict mankind.

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Pandora's box Idioms  

1. A source of unforeseen trouble, as in Revising the tax code is opening a Pandora's box. This equivalent for the modern can of worms comes from the Greek legend in which Pandora, entrusted with a box containing the world's ills, is overcome by curiosity and opens it, thereby releasing them. [Late 1500s]

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Discover More

To “open a Pandora's box” is to create an uncontrollable situation that will cause great grief.

Etymology

Origin of Pandora's box

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Pandora's box

And coming from the field of disinformation in particular, A.I. is a Pandora’s box of yet-to-be-imagined evils.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

Eugene Rabinowitch, the first editor of the Bulletin, wrote about the Pandora’s box of technology that modern science would open.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

"We knew that this will open up a Pandora's box of chaos," said the Gulf International Forum's Aziz Alghashian, a Saudi analyst.

From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026

But its long tail also shows that once the Pandora’s box of conspiracy has been opened, it has the power to destroy lives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

On that night after Phoebe had given her Pandora report, I thought about the Hope in Pandora’s box.

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech