# hoist by one's own petard

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/hoist-by-ones-own-petard
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Hurt or destroyed by one's own plot or device intended for another; "blown up by one's own bomb".

## Examples

- He was hoist by his own petard when his trap backfired.
- The politician tried to smear his rival, but he was hoist by his own petard when the public found out he had done the same thing.
- The spy, who had planted evidence to frame an innocent diplomat, was hoist by his own petard when counterintelligence traced the forged documents back to his own printer.

## Origin

From the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, see quotations.

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