cutting off one's nose to spite one's face
Harmful self-sabotage retaliation
Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face means harming yourself in an attempt to harm someone else—a self-defeating act of revenge or stubbornness.
The image is vivid: disfiguring yourself to upset another person.
She quit her job without another lined up just to make her boss scramble—talk about cutting off her nose to spite her face.
- vindictivenessDisposition toward retaliation
- shooting oneself in the footUnintentionally causing own failure
- self-sabotageUndermining your own goals
- retaliationPunitive response to injury
- throwing the baby out with the bathwaterLosing what matters while removing problems
self-inflicted wound · burning bridges · recklessness · stubbornness · sour grapes · overreaction · rashness · short-sightedness · hoist with one's own petard · irrationality · impatience · pettiness · self-punishment · anger · blind rage · pride · self-denial · penny wise and pound foolish
cutting off one's nose to spite one's faceenlightened self-interest
Benefiting oneself through benefiting others
looking out for number one · self-preservation · knowing which side one's bread is buttered on · pragmatism · rising above
cutting off one's nose to spite one's facestrategic thinking
Deliberate long-range planning
keeping one's powder dry · picking one's battles · calculated restraint · biding one's time · killing with kindness
cutting off one's nose to spite one's facekeeping a cool head
Maintaining calm under pressure
level-headedness · counting to ten · restraint · self-control · equanimity