Hoist with your own petard

Definitions

• discourage someone
  Advise against engaging in a particular activity or task, cautioning that it will not result in any positive outcome or benefit

• experience the negative consequences of one's own actions
  Describe a situation in which someone's own actions or plans backfire and harm them instead

Examples of Hoist with your own petard

• The politician's negative campaign ads, meant to hurt his opponent's reputation, ended up damaging his own credibility, hoisting him with his own petard.

  "Hoist with your own petard" is an idiom that means to be harmed by a plan or action that you intended for someone else. In this example, the politician's plan to damage his opponent's reputation backfired and hurt his own reputation instead, just like a petard (an old-fashioned explosive device) blowing up and harming the person who lit the fuse.

• The CEO's plans to expose the company's competitors backfired when a confidential memo was leaked, hoisting him with his own petard.

  In this example, "hoist with your own petard" is used as a metaphor to describe a situation where an individual's tactics to harm others turn against them. The term "petard" refers to a small bomb or device used to breach gates or walls. When the CEO's plans to expose his competitors led to a leak of confidential information, it was as if he had placed his own bomb and now it had exploded in his face, causing harm to himself.

• The politician's attack on his opponent's character resulted in a scandal, as it emerged that he himself had engaged in similar behavior, hoisting him with his own petard.

  In this example, we can see how the idiom "hoist with your own petard" can be applied in a political context. The politician's attempt to discredit his opponent by criticizing his character only served to highlight his own flaws, as it became clear that he had engaged in similar behaviors. This resulted in a scandal that hurt his own reputation, as he had been hoisted with his own petard.

• The social media activist's campaign against cyberbullying failed miserably when she herself was exposed as a bully, hoisting her with her own petard.

  In this example, the term "hoist with your own petard" is used to describe a situation where an individual's efforts to promote a cause ultimately lead to their own downfall. The social media activist's campaign against cyberbullying was undermined when it was revealed that she had herself engaged in bullying behavior, causing her to be hoisted with her own petard.

• The author's attempt to criticize the writing style of his contemporaries backfired when it was found that he had plagiarized their work, hoisting him with his own petard.

  In this final example, we can see how the use of "hoist with your own petard" can be applied in a literary context. The author's efforts to criticize the writing styles of others led to accusations of plagiarism, as it became clear that he had lifted ideas and phrases from their work. This resulted in his own reputation being damaged, as he had been hoisted with his own petard.

Conclusion

The idiom "hoist with your own petard" is used to discourage someone from pursuing a certain course of action by cautioning them about the potential negative outcomes. It is also used to describe a situation in which someone experiences the negative consequences of their own actions, especially when those actions were intended to harm someone else. In both cases, the idiom emphasizes the idea of facing repercussions as a result of one's own actions or decisions.

This idiom is often used to highlight the irony or poetic justice in a situation, where someone's own plans or actions end up causing harm to themselves. It serves as a cautionary tale and a reminder of the potential consequences of one's actions.

The idiom is commonly used in written and spoken English to convey the idea of facing the consequences of one's own actions, and it is often employed in a figurative sense to emphasize the irony or poetic justice in a situation.

Origin of "Hoist with your own petard"

The idiom "hoist with your own petard" originated from Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," where it is used in Act 3, Scene 4. The phrase "hoist with his own petar" refers to the act of being blown up with one's own bomb. The word "petard" refers to a small bomb used to breach walls or gates. The idiom has since evolved to mean being harmed by one's own actions or plans, and is now commonly used in English to convey the concept of facing the negative consequences of one's own actions.