cut off one's nose to spite one's face
cut off (one's) nose to spite (one's) face
To seek retribution against someone else in a manner that is ultimately harmful or disadvantageous to oneself. He fired Tom for criticizing his managerial skills, but Tom accounts for nearly 75% of his branch's quarterly sales, so all he's really done is cut off his nose to spite his face. I know you're mad at your parents, but running away is only going to make your own life harder. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
See also: cut, face, nose, off, spite
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
cut off one's nose to spite one's face
Injure oneself out of pique. For example, Staying home because Meg was invited first is cutting off your nose to spite your face . Similar hyperboles appeared in several Latin proverbs; in English the expression was first recorded in 1561.
See also: cut, face, nose, off, spite
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
cut off one's nose to spite one's face, to
To act out of pique in a way that injures oneself more than anyone else. The term appears about 1200 as a Latin proverb recorded by Peter of Blois. It was repeated in the mid-seventeenth century by Gedéon Tallemant des Réaux in recounting the history of France: “Henry IV understood very well that to destroy Paris would be, as they say, to cut off his nose to spite his face.”
See also: cut, nose, off, spite
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- bite (one's) nose off to spite (one's) face
- bite off (one's) nose to spite (one's) face
- cut (one's) nose off to spite (one's) face
- cut nose off to spite face
- cut off (one's) nose to spite (one's) face
- cut off nose to spite face
- cut off your nose to spite your face
- spite
- don't cut off your nose to spite your face
- leave yourself wide open to something