open Pandora's box

open (a) Pandora's box

To begin or introduce something that leads to many other problems. A reference to the story from Greek mythology in which Pandora opens a box containing all the possible things that can affect humanity negatively. It seems like we've opened Pandora's box with this topic today. We've been getting hundreds of messages from listeners from around the country who have been affected by it. Trying to fix the bug opened a Pandora's box of other issues with the computer.See also: box, open

open Pandora's box

Fig. to uncover a lot of unsuspected problems. When I asked Jane about her problems, I didn't know I had opened Pandora's box. You should be cautious with people who are upset. You don't want to open Pandora's box.See also: box, open