shoot oneself in the foot
Meaning: To damage one's own interests through a foolish action.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “By insulting the voters he needed, the candidate shot himself in the foot.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Probably from soldiers who wounded themselves, on purpose or by accident, which in the First World War was a way some tried to escape the trenches. The figurative use became common in the late 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Portuguese: dar um tiro no pé — literally: to give a shot in the foot
- French: Scier la branche sur laquelle on est assis — literally: To saw the branch one is sitting on
More idioms — Body & Senses
- set tongues wagging — To cause people to gossip.
- twiddle one's thumbs — To do nothing while waiting or out of boredom.
- have a free hand — To have freedom to act as one sees fit.
- take a load off someone's mind — To relieve someone of a worry.
- hand in hand — Closely together; in close association.
- kicking and screaming — Very reluctantly, protesting all the way.
More English idioms
- make a pass at — To make a sexual or romantic advance toward someone.
- overstep the mark — To go beyond what is acceptable.
- come down on someone like a ton of bricks — To criticize or punish someone very severely.
- shoot down in flames — To reject or destroy an idea or argument completely.
- rough around the edges — Lacking polish or refinement, though basically good.
- smoke the peace pipe — To make peace after a quarrel.
From our tongue twisters
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. — Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. — The 'l/r' alternation drill — deceptively short, yet almost impossible to say fast withou…
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? — A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.