Instead of phrasing a wish to a genie attempting to cover every interpretation it makes more sense to posit numerous supporting circumstances.

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Onno (VK6FLAB)

For example?

southsamurai

That's essentially the same thing

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What's the monkey's paw when simply adding "that works how I expect it to" to the end of any wish?

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You getting disappointed in your choice over a while

For example, if your wish is to live forever, genie can grant you that, and you meant to live forever and you will, and only over time you realize you made a hell for yourself.

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"You expected me to grant the letter of your wish in a way that subverted the spirit of your wish or you wouldn't have put 'that works how I expect it to' on the end. I fulfilled your expectations exactly as requested. Having a 10-inch penis on your forehead was exactly the sort of result you expected, was it not?"

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Haha good call. What about "that works the way I want it to?"

JackGreenEarth

The Hidden Complexity of Wishes

jrs100000

Now you cant help but believe you deserve this hellish existence you brought on yourself.

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that assumes you know exactly what you want though, which I think most people wouldn't at the time of making the wish

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this is actually a plot point in the graphic novel Eight Billion Genies, where people would make a wish by reading a really long contract for hours that covers all the possibilities and caveats. You'd enjoy it, OP.

guy

Ooh this is a good one

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If I ever find a genie's lamp I'm getting a lawyer.

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The problem is that genies or djinns were believed to be mischievous. If you took too long for a wish, then they would cause trouble for you. They were also known to be very manipulative in convincing to make a quick and sudden wish without proper thought. Imagine you're at a fast food restaurant, in the queue, but can't decide what you want. The hungry people behind you are rushing you, the cashier is rushing you, and you eventually freak out and just order something random even though you know what you picked you might not enjoy. That's a genies goal in most mythos

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Assuming myltiple wishes, the first wish might be to know the ideal wishes.

Which might reincarnate you as an impoverished leper of course (for the growth experience)

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Yup. Djinn were, at best, mischievous. At worst, they were outright adversarial and would only begrudgingly grant wishes if you managed to force them into it. Basically, they had the ability to grant wishes, but didn’t want to. So you had to find a way to force them into it, usually by trapping them and striking a deal to release them if they granted your wish.

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Related: Legislation should come with test cases.

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That’s exactly what happens in an episode of the fairly odd parents