Open a Pandora's box
- (a)To do something that causes a lot of new problems that you did not expect
- (b)To do something out of compulsion
- (c)To do something beyond expectation
- (d)To do something out of the box, that causes awards and ceremonies for you
Correct — A, 'To do something that causes a lot of new problems that you did not expect'. To 'open a Pandora's box' means to start on a course of action that unleashes many unforeseen troubles — exactly option (a). The phrase comes from the Greek myth in which Pandora's jar released all the world's ills.
- (b)To do something out of compulsion — Compulsion is not part of the idiom — the point is the flood of hidden problems that follow, not being forced to act.
- (c)To do something beyond expectation — Too vague and neutral; the box specifically releases problems, not just any unexpected result.
- (d)To do something out of the box, that causes awards and ceremonies for you — Confuses it with 'out-of-the-box' thinking and wrongly makes the outcome positive.
'Open a Pandora's box' means to begin something that unexpectedly creates many new and complicated problems.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the correct meaning of the idiom 'open a can of worms'.
- (a)To find a simple solution
- (b)To create a set of complicated problems
- (c)To go fishing
- (d)To reveal a happy secret
Answer(b) To create a set of complicated problems — like Pandora's box, it means triggering many new difficulties.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The idiom 'Pandora's box' has its origin in —
- (a)Roman law
- (b)Greek mythology
- (c)a Shakespeare play
- (d)an Indian folk tale
Answer(b) Greek mythology — Pandora opened a jar that released all the world's evils.