Idiom for unintended consequences

Question

I am looking for a phrase/idiom that expresses the risk of unforeseen consequences of an action. Fake context: Someone develops a treatment for cancer that is later found to cause Alzheimer's. So far, I have found "better the devil you know..." and "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Neither quite get this right.

The duplicate offers a good discussion. You could also refer to "unforeseen consequences" — Anton, Apr 10 '22 at 21:45

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 10 '22 at 05:46

1

The idiom out of the frying pan into the fire may suggest what you are referring to:

Fig. said when you move from a bad or difficult situation to one that is worse.(Typically: get ~; go ~; jump ~.)

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

edited Apr 10 '22 at 05:46

Justin

10,186

answered Oct 02 '14 at 03:40

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 02 '14 at 01:34

0

Immoral hazard :)

But seriously, "no good deed goes unpunished" sort of works for your example, though not well for the question itself.

answered Oct 02 '14 at 01:34

idunno

1,180

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 10 '22 at 05:47

0

Reminds me of the title of Edward Tanner's book: Why things bite back. Technology and the revenge of unintended consequences".

"Be careful what you wish for" is another one I hear frequently.

edited Apr 10 '22 at 05:47

Justin

10,186

answered Oct 02 '14 at 02:52

Alice Tremain

71

Idiom for unintended consequences

3 Answers3