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Pandora's Box

French translation: Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	To open up Pandora's Box
French translation:	Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore
Entered by:	Deb Phillips

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16:37 Feb 11, 2002

English to French translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: Pandora's Box

To open up Pandora's Box

Please translate entire phrase but most significant is the term "Pandora's Box"- all possible variations for translating into French in different ways appreciated -Your understanding of the term and internet links demonstrating practical application of the term, especially historical and economics related ones also tremendously appreciated. Thank you!

Deb Phillips

la boite de Pandore

Explanation:
Ouvrir la boite de Pandore

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Note added at 2002-02-11 17:03:37 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Boîte takes an accent (thanks DPolice).
No I have never heard the word \"box\" being used in French in this context.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-02-11 17:06:56 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

English \"loan words\" are becoming more common in French, but are usually reserved for recent inventions of a US origin. In this case, going back to mythology, there is no challenge to the well-established French version.

Selected response from:

VBaby
Local time: 09:22

Grading comment

Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +16

la boite de Pandore

VBaby

5 +3

Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

lesinou

5 +2

ouvrir la boîte de Pandora

Cynthia Brals-Rud

5 +2

Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

Catherine GUILLIAUMET

5 +1

Just an added note

Meri Buettner

5 +1

ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

olivier dournes

4 +1

ouvrir la bo?te de Pandore

Natalie

4 +1

La Boite de Pandore

Wafaa Tajri

ouvrir le loge de Pandore

Rafa Lombardino

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +16

la boite de Pandore

VBaby
Local time: 09:22
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 12

Grading comment

Thank you!

9 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

Explanation:
It does translate directly.

Full story here:
http://www.contes.net/contes/pays/gre1.html

This mean a secret filled with incredible yet terrible knowledge, that one should not try to learn.

lesinou
Local time: 10:22

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

La Boite de Pandore

Explanation:
La boite de Pandore
Mise a Jour : 01/22/2001 TABLE DES MATIERES, TITRE.
ANCIENS NUMEROS. NUMERO III, MON CURSUS. ECRIVEZ ...
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/christatos/ - 16k - Copie cachée - Pages similaires

La Boite de Pandore
Dernieres modifications : 16/12/99 11:11 PM, TITRE. SUR NOUS.
EDITORIAL. SOGNOT. LA FEMME. PRAGUE. ROME. LIENS. ECRIVEZ NOUS.
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/christatos/bdpfr.htm - 9k - Copie cachée - Pages similaires
[ Autres résultats, domaine ourworld.compuserve.com ]

Ma boîte à pandore
Nous y voilà, ma boîte à Pandore à moi. Un espace qui laisse libre cours à
l'agitation créatrice qui est en moi. En choisissant la formation de Web ...
genevandiest.multimania.com/g_samanger.htm - 14k - Copie cachée - Pages similaires

La Boîte de Pandore et le Symbion
La Boîte de Pandore et le Symbion par Josep Mª Dacosta.
Traduit par Annie Unland. a mythologie ...
marenostrum.org/bibliotecadelmar/mitologia/pandora_fr.htm - 20k - Copie cachée - Pages similaires

La boite de Pandore...
... Retour. La boîte de Pandore. Beaucoup d'hommes se réjouissaient que Prométhée
leur ait fait don du feu. Cela déplaisait à Zeus, aussi deecida-t ...
www.contes.net/contes/pays/gre1.html - 7k - Copie cachée - Pages similaires

[PDF] Les brevets sur les inventions biotechnologiques : boîte de ...
Format de fichier: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Version HTML
... le 22 novembre 2001 Les brevets sur les inventions biotechnologiques : boîte de
Pandore ou panacée ? Dans la foulée des progrès fulgurants réalisés dans ...
www.ige.ch/F/jurinfo/pdf/medienworkshop_summary_add.pdf - Pages similaires

La page de Xena -- Episode 4 : La boite de Pandore
Titre, La boite de Pandore. Titre original, Cradles of
Hope. Saison, 1. Episode n°, 4. Série, 104. ...
www.european-xenaverse.com/page/html/saison/episode.php?num... - 12k - Copie cachée - Pages similaires

La boite de Pandore
La boite de Pandore: En cette 169ème année de la nouvelle ère, le Grand ... ancienne
légende humaine transmise sous le nom de ‘ La Boîte de Pandore’ ? ...
www.supaero.fr/page-perso/club/jeuxsimu/convention/abstract... pandore.htm - 5k

Recherche sur les pages francophones de Google.com

Wafaa Tajri
Morocco
Local time: 09:22
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Arabic,

French

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

ouvrir la boîte de Pandora

Explanation:
Here are some ex. of the phrase in context, as you requested :-)
Gopod luck!

Le Monde.fr : Corruption généralisée dans le football ...
... responsabilités ? Aura-t-elle l'audace d'ouvrir une enquête interne après pareilles
révélations, au risque d'ouvrir une périlleuse boîte de Pandore ? ...
www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3242--256577-VT,00.html - Gelijkwaardige pagina's

Le Monde.fr : Redessiner la carte des Balkans
... On prétendra que toute modification de la carte actuelle des Balkans reviendrait
à ouvrir la boîte de Pandore. J'estime cette crainte très exagérée. Les ...
www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3232-5373-163544-VT,00.html

Europinions | EUROPE 2020 | www.europe2020.org
... L'actualité commentée d'un point ... à l'ouverture de la boîte de Pandore politique
appelée Euro. Ce ... le jeu communautaire. Il doit ouvrir le chantier de la ...
www.europe2020.org/fr/europinions/ - 101k - In cache - Gelijkwaardige pagina's

Geen titel
... 1. 17p. |DP| 1996.html |ID| A1.70 WP 186 |AB| La communication est-elle une boite
de Pandore que nombre de dirigeants "traditionnels" hesiteraient a ouvrir? La ...
www.fas.umontreal.ca/sceco/dept/ctrdoc/jelco/listes/M/M1.ls... 1997.html - 27k - In cache - Gelijkwaardige pagina's

[PDF] C 4/CR 90/3 Cour internationale International Court de ...
Bestandsformaat: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - HTML versie
... L'expérience montre toutefois qu'ouvrir la porte à l'intérêt, c'est ouvrir une
boîte de Pandore qu'il faut aussitôt s'efforcer d'entrefermer à nouveau. ...
www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/Icases/ish/ish_icr/iSH_iCR9003_19900... - Gelijkwaardige pagina's

GEOS: Earth: Final Conflict - Pandora's Box
... Regional titles Pandora's Box (English) La boîte de Pandore (French) Die Buechse
der Pandora (German) Broadcast information There are no upcoming airdates for ...
www.swd.net.au/cgi-bin/geos/episodes.cgi/episode/efc/014 - 36k - In cache - Gelijkwaardige pagina's

Mitología
... dauphins, La Caja de Pandora y el Symbion, La Boîte
de Pandore et le Symbion, Orfeo y el Cabo Norfeu, ...
marenostrum.org/bibliotecadelmar/mitologia/ - 20k - In cache - Gelijkwaardige pagina's

Pandora's Box (1929) - Bibliography of Film Reviews and ...
... allemand, va mettre en scéne La boite de Pandore, d'après la pièce de Wedekind.
La ... Falkenberg, Paul. "La boîte de Pandore." Cinémonde, March 7, 1929 ...
www.pandorasbox.com/louisebrooks/biblio/pandora-reviews.htm...

Bonne chance!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-02-11 16:50:55 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Pandore (not Pandora, typo, sorry)

Reference: http://www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3232-5373-163544-VT,00....

Cynthia Brals-Rud
Local time: 10:22
Native speaker of:

Spanish

15 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

ouvrir la bo?te de Pandore

Explanation:
Meaning: To open a Pandora's box means to introduce yourself to trouble.
Greek Myth: Zeus was disgusted with man and decided to inflict him with the worst trouble imaginable: the creation of woman. (Yes, it is sexist! But then, the Greeks were pigs; the "founders of democracy" my heiny!) Hephaestus molded the woman from clay, and the goddesses bestowed gifts of charm and beauty to her. Zeus then gave her to Epimetheus (whose name means "afterthought") to marry, with a beautiful box (or jar) of evils as her dowry. Although told not to open it, she inevitably did, with only Hope flying out as salvage.
http://www.areopagus.net/grkterms.htm

To "open Pandora's box" means to "explore the forbidden and pay the consequences.". ...
www.geocities.com/timessquare/labyrinth/9621/Dictionary/

To “open Pandora's box” means the same as “opening a can of worms” except a part of the story is ...
www.goodscents.org/12-01nsl.htm

Examples of usage (both French and English):
... est un d?faut compr?hensible pour un flic, d?grafer les colis ?quivaut ? ouvrir la bo?te de Pandore, des lettres, des photos, des armes, la vie de la ...
www.edicom.ch/femina/eclair/thiery1.html

Esp?ces transg?niques: ouvrir la bo?te de Pandore ? Jacques Testart L'oubli de l'animal Florence ...
www.monde-diplomatique.fr/info-diplo/msg00062.html

... va-t-on ouvrir la bo?te de Pandore?
... Hydrog?ne solaire: mythe et r?alit?
solar-club.web.cern.ch/solar-club/controverses/Controverses.html

... cette recherche pourrait ouvrir la boite de Pandore du clonage ...
www.pcf.fr/bioethique/

... La FIFA pr?te ? ouvrir la bo?te de Pandore. ...
www.sport.fr/Football/foo/5840.shtm

The Legal Profession Defends Its Turf
... of dealing with that than to open the Pandora's box of allowing the government to decide what books may be sold.
www.cato.org/dailys/10-13-98.html

Natalie
Poland
Local time: 10:22
Native speaker of:

Russian

17 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

Explanation:
Du grec Pandora : qui a tous les dons.
Mythologie : Pandora était la femme créée par les dieux pour punir les hommes de leur puissance et de leurs prétentions. Devenue épouse d'Epiméthée, elle ouvtit le vase (ce n'était pas une boîte à l'origine), d'où sortirent tous les maux, qui se répandirent sur la terre. Seule l'espérance demeura au fond du récipient. Source : GDEL en 15 volumes (entre autres).
Cette expression est souvent utilisée pour décrire quelqu'un que la curiosité et/ou l'ambition pousse à braver les interdits, à aller trop loin, à ne pas résister à la tentation "d'ouvrir la boîte de Pandore", ce qui a pour effet de déclencher des catastrophes

Catherine GUILLIAUMET
France
Local time: 10:22
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 4

17 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

Explanation:
It comes from Greek mythology, in which Pandora was a woman made of clay by Hephaistus on the orders of Zeus.
Athena breathed life into her and all the gods endowed her with every charm (hence her name which, inGreek, means "all gifts").
She carried a box in which all evil and distempers were carried. It mustn't be opened but Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus, was too noisy and opened the box, letting all the evils away. These are the evils which still afflict the human kind !

Consequently, the expression is used when something secret is unveiled, which brings a lot of trouble.

The direct translaton is confirmed by Le Petit Robert dictionary.

Sorry I was a bit long, but I'm glad to share the Classics I studied at University !

olivier dournes
Local time: 09:22
Native speaker of:

French

53 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Just an added note

Explanation:
since nobody has mentioned it as yet, Pandore était la première femme de l'humanité dans la mythologie grecque. (le côté non-sexiste)

(En fait, la jarre contenait les misères humaines qui se sont répandues sur la terre.)

Meri Buettner
Local time: 10:22
Native speaker of:

English

6 hrs confidence:

ouvrir le loge de Pandore

Explanation:
That's what I could find...

Rafa Lombardino
United States
Local time: 01:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Portuguese,

English

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Changes made by editors

Apr 21, 2005 - Changes made by VBaby:
Field (specific)	(none) => General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

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French translation: Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

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French translation: Ouvrir la boîte de Pandore

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