English

Phrase

genie is out of the bottle

1. (idiomatic) Information has been released that will have ongoing consequences.

   It's been widely rumored the network was planning to cancel the show, but now the genie is out of the bottle and fans are furious.

2. (idiomatic) Something has been brought into reality that cannot be eliminated or undone.

   I don't think there's any hope of repealing this city's silly parking bylaw. The genie is out of the bottle, sadly.

Synonyms

• (information has been released that will have ongoing consequences): cat is out of the bag

See also

• can of worms
• kettle of fish
• what's done is done