blows up in one's face
Scheme goes wrong
When something blows up in one's face, it fails spectacularly and causes harm to the person who initiated it.
The image is of an explosive detonating prematurely: His scheme to frame his rival blew up in his face when the evidence pointed back to him.
The phrase emphasizes ironic reversal—an action meant to benefit you instead damages you.
- misfireFailure to discharge
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- collapseSudden structural failure
- fiascoHumiliating public failure
- crash and burnFail completely and visibly
negligence · miscalculation · debacle · recklessness · undoing · frustration · apology · lesson learned · overconfidence · oversight · haste · comeuppance · disaster · own goal · bites back · unintended consequences · best laid plans · regret
outcome
blows up in one's facepays off
Produces a positive result
works out · succeeds · pans out · bears fruit · comes through