blow up in one's face

present singular third person blows up in one's face · participle present blowing up in one's face · past blew up in one's face · participle past blown up in one's face

1. idiomaticintransitiveTo fail disastrously.

   So I wish you luck, but don't come crying to me when it blows up in your face.

   2002, Joan Barfoot, Critical injuries, page 118

   2 more examples

   Whether the specific pecking order of the game I let them play today had anything to do with the fact that it blew up in my face after five minutes is a question that can be answered only in empirical terms.

   1972, James Whittaker, Albert Trieschman, editors, Children Away from Home: A Sourcebook of Residential Treatment

   If I took the risk to speak with my friend and the whole thing blew up in my face, I'd probably feel ashamed and exposed whenever I thought about it for a very, very long time.

   1999, Dena Rosenbloom, Mary Beth Williams, Barbara E. Watkins, Life after trauma: a workbook for healing