What Does “life is like a box of chocolates” mean?
Definition:
The phrase ‘life is like a box of chocolates’ means that life is unpredictable and that it is full of surprises; you never know what will happen next.
A related idiom is the following:
life is a bowl of cherries
which means that life is very pleasant.
The origin of the idiom
The idiom was popularized in the 1994 film Forrest Gump when the lead character Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) says:
“My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Example(s)
He got seriously ill, but hey, life is like a box of chocolates.
This idiom is in the food category.