hoisted by one's own petard
Trapped by yourself
Hoisted by one's own petard describes being harmed by one's own scheme or weapon.
A petard was a small bomb used to blow open gates; to be hoisted by it meant the explosive went off prematurely, throwing the sapper into the air.
The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet and now applies to anyone undone by their own plot: The senator who pushed the ethics investigation found himself hoisted by his own petard when his own misconduct surfaced.
- backfireYield unintended consequences
- blow up in one's faceAttempt fails catastrophically on initiator
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- poetic justiceFitting outcome matching misdeeds
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
what goes around comes around · just desserts · taste of one's own medicine · self-sabotage · dig one's own grave · Hamlet · explosive device · repercussions · irony · grenade · biting off more than one can chew · unintended consequences · causality · comeuppance · bomb · etymology · Elizabethan language · shooting oneself in the foot
hoisted by one's own petardblindsided
Surprised by unforeseen impact
ambushed · stabbed in the back · betrayed · sabotaged · bushwhacked
hoisted by one's own petardturning the tables
Gaining advantage over opponent
hoisted by one's own petardcollateral damage
Unintended harm from military action