ENGLISH
REFERENCE

heffalump trap

idiom
Meaning

A situation where an attempt to trap or outwit someone ends up backfiring on the original schemer.


Examples
SIMPLE

He fell into his own heffalump trap.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager tried to trick his rival, but it became a heffalump trap when the boss found out.

COMPLEX

By engineering an elaborate scheme to discredit his colleague, the ambitious politician inadvertently constructed a heffalump trap that ultimately ruined his own career.

Anchors to
Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    fall into a trap

    To make a mistake, a bad decision or act senselessly and get into an extremely difficult situation.

  2. 02

    honey trap

    The use of a romantic or a sexual relationship to entice a person into revealing secret information.

  3. 03

    shut one's trap

    To stop talking; to be quiet.

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