hoist by one's own petard

alternative hoist with one's own petard · alternative hoist on one's own petard · alternative hoisted by one's own petard

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

   He has no one to blame but himself; he was hoisted by his own petard.

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   For tis the ſport to haue the enginer / Hoiſt with his owne petar, an't ſhall goe hard

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], line 208

   Unhappily, the country as well as Mr. Marples has been hoist by the Minister's petard. (Mr. Marples was the Minister concerned)

   1963 June, “Second thoughts on Beeching”, in Modern Railways, page 362

   The danger with Trump would seem to be that, like Berlusconi, he would be hoist by his own petard, self-destructing precisely through the agent of his rise, and dragging the rest of us with him.

   2015 August 27, Michael Signer, “What Happens When Donald Trump Stirs Up 'Passionate' Supporters”, in The Atlantic

   After a while Bond said: 'It's very satisfactory to be a corpse who changes places with his murderers. For them it certainly was a case of being hoist with their own petard.'

   1953, Ian Fleming, “The Game Is Baccarat”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 64

   At last, the opposition spoke with one voice, and Boris Johnson was hoist by his own petard. It’s hard to see how he gets out of it.

   2019 September 4, Jon Henley, “'Fighting for survival': European papers maul Johnson after defeat”, in The Guardian, →ISSN