monkey's paw

plural monkey's paws · alternative monkey paw · alternative monkey-paw

1. attributiveidiomaticusuallyA situation in which a wish or desire has been fulfilled, but at significant cost or with ironic, usually unfavourable consequences.

   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.

   2017 October 11, Helen Rosner, “What Le Cirque Will Be Remembered For”, in The New Yorker

   3 more 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.

   2015 October 19, Sam Kriss with Thom Phipps, “Who really ever owns a tweet? The story of a 140-character message gone viral, and the man who stole it”, in The Daily Telegraph

   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.

   2020 April 2, Brian Feldman, “Welcome (Back) to the Appointment Internet”, in New York

   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.

   2021 March 27, Brian Marks, “Tom Hanks' rapper son Chet Hanks gets lambasted on social media after declaring that 'white boy summer' is on the way”, in The Daily Mail

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see monkey, paw.