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

English

WOTD – 16 December 2011    

Verb

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

harm oneself as a result of trying to harm an adversary

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 損人不利己 (cmn), 损人不利己 (cmn) (sǔnrén bùlìjǐ)

• Finnish: sattua omaan nilkkaan (fi)
• German: sich ins eigene Fleisch schneiden (de)

• Romanian: (lit. to hit oneself in the head) a-și da singur în cap (ro), (lit. to steal one's own cap) a-și fura singur căciula (ro)
• Russian: выколю себе глаз, пусть у тёщи зять кривой будет (ru) (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)
• Spanish: tirar piedras al o contra el propio tejado (es)