cut off one's nose to spite one's face

English

WOTD – 16 December 2011

Alternative forms

• cut off one's face to spite one's nose

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

cut off one's nose to spite one's face (third-person singular simple present cuts off one's nose to spite one's face, present participle cutting off one's nose to spite one's face, simple past and past participle cut off one's nose to spite one's face)

1. (idiomatic) To harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary.

Translations

to harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary

• Arabic: مَنْ حَفَرَ حُفْرَةً لِأَخِيهِ وَقَعَ فِيهَا (man ḥafara ḥufratan liʔaḵīhi waqaʕa fīhā)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 損人不利己 / 损人不利己 (zh) (sǔnrén bù lìjǐ), 傷敵一千，自損八百 / 伤敌一千，自损八百 (shāng dí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi), 殺敵一千，自損八百 / 杀敌一千，自损八百 (shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi)

• Dutch: wie zijn neus schendt schendt zijn aangezicht
• Finnish: sattua omaan nilkkaan
• French: se tirer une balle dans le pied (fr)
• German: sich ins eigene Fleisch schneiden (de)
• Italian: darsi la zappa sui piedi, spararsi sui piedi
• Polish: na złość mamie odmrozić sobie uszy (pl) pf, na złość mamie odmrażać sobie uszy impf, na złość babci odmrozić sobie uszy pf, na złość babci odmrażać sobie uszy impf, na złość mamusi odmrozić sobie uszy pf, na złość mamusi odmrażać sobie uszy impf (lit. I'll get my ears frostbitten to spite my mum/grandmother/mummy)
• Romanian: (lit. to hit oneself in the head) a-și da singur în cap, (lit. to steal one's own cap) a-și fura singur căciula
• Russian: вы́колю себе́ глаз, пусть у тёщи зять криво́й бу́дет (výkolju sebé glaz, pustʹ u tjóšči zjatʹ krivój búdet) (lit. I'll poke my own eye out, let my mother-in-law have a one-eyed son-in-law), назло́ ма́ме отморо́жу у́ши (ru) (nazló máme otmoróžu úši) (lit. I'll get my ears frostbitten to spite my mom)
• Spanish: tirar piedras contra el propio tejado (es), tirar piedras al propio tejado, tirar piedras sobre el propio tejado
• Uzbek: burgaga achchiq qilib ko'rpa yoqish (lit. burn a blanket to spite bedbugs)

See also

• dig one's own grave
• hoist by one's own petard
• shoot oneself in the foot
• sow dragon's teeth

Further reading

• “cut off one's nose to spite one's face”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “cut off your nose to spite your face”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “cut off your nose to spite your face”, in Collins English Dictionary.