# singe one's wings

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/singe-ones-wings
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To sustain harm, loss or ruin by doing some risky or perilous deed.

## Examples

- He tried to cheat, but he only singed his wings.
- She invested all her savings in that risky startup and singed her wings when it went bankrupt.
- The manager singed his wings after he ignored the safety warnings and tried to speed up production without checking the equipment first.
- By recklessly challenging the established power structure, the young politician singed his wings and ended his career prematurely.

## Origin

From Hellenic mythology, where the engineer Daedalus and his son Icarus fled the Cretan labyrinth of Knossos using wings fashioned from feathers and wax. The escape required a precise middle course; Daedalus instructed his son to fly neither too low, where the sea's dampness might clog the feathers, nor too high, where the sun's heat would melt the adhesive. Icarus proved unheeding of the bidding and flew too near to the sun. The wax melted, the wings failed, and he fell from the sky into the Aegean Sea where he drowned. The phrase survives as an allusion to the specific tactical error of overreaching one's equipment.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.