"Danaergeschenk" as "Greek gift" or "Trojan horse"?

[Joel S. Berson]

I meant to add that someone else suggested "'monkey's paw,' after a
story by W. W. Jacobs (1906). (In the story, a monkey's paw brings
its possessor three wishes, but with unintended consequences.)"

But this seems to me to have different connotations than the Iliad's
Trojan horse--something brought upon oneself, not a treacherous gift
bestowed by another.  (And "monkey's paw" has not made it into the OED.)

Joel

At 9/25/2006 11:25 AM, you wrote:
>Someone on another list asks:  Today, if one wants a colloquial,
>easily-recognized translation of "Danaergeschenk", would one use
>"Greek gift" or "Trojan horse"?
>
>Is "Greek gift" no longer sufficiently commonly-recognized in
>English?  Or does "Trojan horse" now have too much of an association
>with computers?  (The context for the German is not
>computers.)  Google counting, obviously, is useless.
>
>Joel
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org