Englishcut off one's nose to spite one's face
Meaning: To injure oneself in the process of seeking revenge or attempting to punish someone.
Example: “Quitting the team because the coach benched you is cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
Origin: The underlying image — punishing an enemy by damaging yourself in the process — is recorded as a "common saying" as far back as the 12th century by the French cleric Peter of Blois, in the Latin: "he who cuts off his nose takes poor revenge for a shame inflicted on him." English versions of the same idea circulate from the 1500s, but the exact modern wording only surfaces in the 1700s, with Francis Grose's 1788 Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue glossing "he cut off his nose to be revenged of his face" as applying to "one who, to be revenged on his neighbor, has materially injured himself." The nose was a natural choice for the image: a literal, well-documented punishment for treachery and adultery in medieval Europe was to have it cut off, permanently marking the victim's face with the injury.
More English idioms
- get a leg up To make a good start on some activity or project.
- get it in the neck To receive something unpleasant, such as criticism or punishment.
- get something off one's chest To disclose or talk about something that is bothering or worrying one.
- get something on the nose To do or understand something perfectly.
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- give someone a hand To help someone.
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