monkey's paw

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR C1

Post

Why this phrase?

the severed paw of a monkey, the cursed talisman in W. W. Jacobs's 1902 horror story that grants three wishes

Example

“The bailout was a monkey's paw: the bank survived, but the terms gutted the company for a decade.”

Dictionary details

Component words

monkey paw

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

behind bars Neutral · CEFR B2

face the music Neutral · CEFR B2

To accept the unpleasant consequences of your actions.

pot calling the kettle black Informal · CEFR B2

criticizing someone for a fault you share

you reap what you sow Neutral · CEFR B2

your actions determine your results

blind leading the blind Neutral · CEFR C1

people with no experience guiding others who have no experience

Pandora's box Neutral · CEFR C1

an action or situation that unleashes many unexpected and hard-to-control problems

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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