put the genie back in the bottle
To revert a situationTo revert a situation; to put things back as they were before something (usually an unwelcome thing) became a reality.
» Wine is poetry put into a bottle.
Wein ist in Flaschen gefüllte Poesie. — MUIRIEL
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To revert a situation; to put things back as they were before something (usually an unwelcome thing) became a reality.
Near-synonym: unring a bell
People are very worried about artificial intelligence, but there's no way now to put the genie back in the bottle.
Examples
26 sentencesWine is poetry put into a bottle.
deWein ist in Flaschen gefüllte Poesie. — MUIRIEL
Tom put the cork back into the wine bottle.
deTom setzte den Korken wieder auf die Weinflasche. — raggione
I've put the bottle of wine in the refrigerator.
Tom put the bottle of whiskey in front of Mary.
After pouring drinks, Tom put the bottle down in front of Mary.
Forms
puts the genie back in the bottle, putting the genie back in the bottle, put the genie back in the bottle, put the genie back in the bottle| Base form | put the genie back in the bottle · to put the genie back in the bottle |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | puts the genie back in the bottle |
| Present participle | putting the genie back in the bottle |
| Past simple | put the genie back in the bottle |
| Past participle | put the genie back in the bottle |
irregular · Lesson
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | put the genie back in the bottle |
| he, she, it | puts the genie back in the bottle |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | put the genie back in the bottle |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have put the genie back in the bottle |
| he, she, it | has put the genie back in the bottle |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will put the genie back in the bottle |
Synonyms
3 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.