monkey paw

A form of monkey's paw — A situation in which a wish or desire has been fulfilled, but at significant cost or with ironic, usually unfavourable consequences.

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Meanings

nounmonkey paw (plural monkey paws)

plural monkey paws

  1. alternativeattributiveidiomaticusuallyAlternative form of monkey's paw.

    "Seems we were all living bad dreams," he said. "Wishes coming true in a monkey-paw way."

    1995, Marcia Golub, Wish-bone, page 334
    2 more examples

    It was Tom's monkey paw, that wish that he could be the provider in the family. Suddenly my father was dead and the gauntlet was passed to my oldest brother.

    2003, Darren Greer, Tyler's Cape, page 120

    For obvious reasons, I didn't trust demon favors. I had to think quickly, something that wouldn't backfire. There was a lesson to be learned from that whole monkey paw deal.

    2010, Ann Aguirre, Hell Fire, page 304
Cite this entry
APA

monkey paw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20paw

MLA

“monkey paw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20paw. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monkey paw,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20paw.

Source: monkey paw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.