🗓️ Idiom: A Pandora’s Box (n)
💬 Meaning
- A situation that, once started, can reveal or cause many other problems.
- Something that seems small but leads to big difficulties.
🧠 Example Sentences
- Changing the company’s policies without careful planning opened a Pandora’s box of complaints.
- Revealing confidential information at the meeting could open a Pandora’s box for the management team.
- Introducing new regulations without clear guidelines might turn out to be a Pandora’s box for the industry.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from an ancient Greek myth where Pandora opened a box (actually a jar) releasing all the world’s troubles. It now means starting something that causes many unexpected problems.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Changing the budget rules without discussion could open ________ for the company.
Answer
a Pandora’s box
2. Multiple choice:
What does “Pandora’s box” mean?
a) A helpful tool
b) Something that causes many problems
c) A surprise gift
Answer
b) Something that causes many problems
3. Change the sentence using ” a Pandora’s box”:
“Starting the investigation caused many unexpected issues.”
Answer
Starting the investigation opened a Pandora’s box.