monkey's paw

From the 1902 short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, in which a mummified monkey's paw is enchanted to grant a family three wishes, but with terrible consequences for them. Popularised by a segment based on Jacobs' story in the 1991 episode "Treehouse of Horror II" of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons.

• "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."