Meaning of monkey's paw | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A situation in which a wish or desire has been fulfilled, but at significant cost or with ironic, usually unfavourable consequences.
   attributive, idiomatic, usually
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see monkey, paw.

Examples

“It’s given me everything I thought I wanted – riches, lucre, affluence, having lots of money, and being very wealthy – but with monkey’s-paw precision it’s turned all my dreams against me.”

“It’s a monkey’s paw of a legacy, to have birthed an immortal gastronomic titan but not to have attained immortality of one’s own.”

“For many people, the extended period of quarantine and working from home necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak has turned into a monkey’s paw situation — a theoretical wish come true that has significant downsides.”

“One person joked that Chet was the result of a monkey's paw situation with his father. ¶ 'Chet hanks is the price tom hanks paid to become tom hanks,' they wrote.”

CEFR level