let the genie out of the bottle

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let the genie out of the bottle = put the genie back in the bottle

let loose (or bring back under control) an unpredictable force and course of events

A genie or jinnee in Arabian stories is a spirit that can adopt various forms and take a mischievous or benign hand in human affairs. The genie generally inhabits a lamp or bottle from which someone can release it by the appropriate words or actions. The Arabic word appears in English in various transliterations. The word genie derives from French génie (from Latin genius meaning a tutelary spirit), used by the French translators of The Arabian Nights because it was similar in form and sense to the Arabic word.

2002 - Chicago Tribune - Keeping the nuclear genie in the bottle has not been easy. India and Pakistan have both developed nuclear weapons in recent years.

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