petard

be hoist by (one's) own petard

To be injured, ruined, or defeated by one's own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; to have fallen victim to one's own trap or schemes. ("Hoist" in this instance is the past participle of the archaic form of the verb "hoise.") I tried to get my boss fired by planting drugs on him, but I was hoist by my own petard when the police caught me with them beforehand.
See also: by, hoist, own, petard

be hoist with (one's) own petard

To be injured, ruined, or defeated by one's own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; to have fallen victim to one's own trap or schemes. ("Hoist" in this instance is the past participle of the archaic form of the verb "hoise.") I tried to get my boss fired by planting drugs on him, but I was hoist with my own petard when the police caught me with them beforehand.
See also: hoist, own, petard

hoist by/with (one's) own petard

To be injured, ruined, or defeated by one's own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; to have fallen victim to one's own trap or schemes. ("Hoist" in this instance is the past participle of the archaic form of the verb "hoise.") I tried to get my boss fired by planting drugs on him, but I was hoist by my own petard when the police caught me with them beforehand.
See also: by, hoist, own, petard
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hoist with one's own petard

Fig. to be harmed or disadvantaged by an action of one's own which was meant to harm someone else. (From a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet.) She intended to murder her brother but was hoist with her own petard when she ate the poisoned food intended for him. The vandals were hoist with their own petard when they tried to make an emergency call from the pay phone they had broken.
See also: hoist, own, petard
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

hoist by your own petard

or

hoist with your own petard

FORMAL
If someone is hoist by their own petard or is hoist with their own petard, something they do to get an advantage or to harm someone else results in harm to themselves. You should stop spreading stories about your opponents or, sooner or later, you will be hoist with your own petard. Note: `Petards' were metal balls filled with gunpowder which were used to blow up walls or gates. The gunpowder was lit by a slow-burning fuse, but there was always a danger that the device would explode too soon and `hoist' the person lighting it, that is, blow them up in the air.
See also: by, hoist, own, petard
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

hoist with (or by) your own petard

have your plans to cause trouble for others backfire on you.
The phrase is from Shakespeare's Hamlet: ‘For 'tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his own petard’. In former times, a petard was a small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with explosive powder, while hoist here is the past participle of the dialect verb hoise , meaning ‘lift or remove’.
See also: hoist, own, petard
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

be hoist/hoisted by/with your own peˈtard

(British English) be caught in the trap that you were preparing for another personThis is from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. A petard was a small bomb.
See also: by, hoist, own, petard
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

be hoist with one's own petard

To be undone by one's own schemes.
See also: hoist, own, petard
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

hoist with one's own petard

Caught in one’s own trap, defeated by one’s own weapons. The term alludes to an ancient weapon, a thick iron canister filled with gunpowder, which was fastened to a gate or other barrier in order to breach it. It was a dangerous weapon, because the engineer who set it off could easily be blown up (“hoist”) when it detonated. Shakespeare was among the first to transfer the term, in Hamlet (3.4): “Let it work; for ’tis the sport to have the enginer hoist with his own petar.”
See also: hoist, own, petard
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

hoist by your own petard

Hurt by your own misdeed. A petard was a medieval bomb made of a container of gunpowder with a fuse, and to blow open gates during sieges against towns and fortresses. Unreliable, petards often exploded prematurely and sent the person who lit the fuse aloft (the “hoist” image) in one or more pieces. The phrase, which is often misquoted as “hoist on one's own petard,” comes from Hamlet: For 'tis the sport to have the engineer Hoist with his own petard; and ‘t shall go hard But I will delve one yard below their mines And blow them at the moon . . .
See also: by, hoist, own, petard
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • be hoist by (one's) own petard
  • be hoist with (one's) own petard
  • be hoist with one's own petard
  • be hoist/hoisted by/with your own petard
  • at will
  • about (one's) business
  • about business
  • be on (one's) pat
  • at the end of (one's) fingertips
  • be remembered for (something)
References in periodicals archive
L'agence officielle Irna a explique en fin de journee qu'"un jeune homme se trouvant dans la foule" massee sur le passage du President avait "allume un petard pour manifester sa joie".
Explosion au passage du convoi du President iranien
HMS Petard left the area for Haifa, signalling that documents had been captured.
SECRET HERO; Bravery of Midland sailor who dived into sinking Nazi sub to retrieve vital Enigma code was covered up for years
"I had a shattered pestle once," he confided, "but only because we had attached an explosive charge to it in an attempt to improve its performance by turning it into a petard. It exploded as soon as I began grinding."
Still mortarful but pestleless
An extra 236 metres will be built from Petard Close to Slingsby.
Flooding misery may end; TAMWORTH New sewers hope for families
Lawyers love to hoist one another on a petard. Of course, not many of them know the definition of petard.
Codes and law
A petard, as in the Shakespearean idiom 'hoist by his or her own petard' was a what?
TIME OUT EXTRA
JUDGING from this evasive response to journalist's questions at the monthly Downing Street press conference at which he "repeatedly attempted to bat away the question of whether he wants to see Saddam Hussein hanged" (Daily Post, November 4), it is clear that much as he would like to see the extinguishing of Saddam as the beacon of continuing resistance to the illegal occupation of his country, Tony Blair has been hoist by his own petard over his own populist stance on capital punishment.
Letter: No better in Iraq
So much for supporting 'animal welfare' Mr Hobday, your own bigoted animal rights ethos has hoisted you by your own petard.
Letters Toll of lambs killed by foxes
But by claiming bias, big Eck may be hoisted by his own petard.
IAIN CAMPBELL: Pete rap is a big mistake
The HMS Petard sailor was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his actions which helped the Allies target enemy subs - and hide D-Day plans.
How could U? Film steals hero's glory
La Federation croate a accuse la Torcida d'avoir ete a l'origine des incidents qui ont eu lieu vendredi a Saint-Etienne a la fin de Croatie-Republique tcheque (2-2), interrompu pendant quatre minutes apres des lancers de fumigenes et d'un petard. Le groupe ultra a dementi.
des ultras croates ont [beaucoup moins que]un nouveau projet[beaucoup plus grand que] pour espagne-croatie
Others from the Bard's most celebrated play include: Hoisted By His Own Petard, Every Dog Has His Day and There's Method In His Madness.
Theatre: Slice of old Shakespearean ham
According to the official version, when, on October 30, 1942, the U-559 was depth-charged to the surface by HMS Petard on the convoy route from Port Said, Egypt, to Haifa, Palestine, the British destroyer's 35-yearold Lt-Commander Mark Thornton mounted an orderly snatch operation: he took Petard alongside the U-boat so that his men could jump onto the German vessel.
The puzzling story of Enigma; As Bletchley Park celebrates the heroic action of a 16-year-old boy from North Shields who - exactly 75 years ago today - climbed inside a German U-boat to steal her Enigma codebooks, HUGH SEBAG-MONTEFIORE, author of a newlyreleased updated book about the breaking of the Enigma code, describes the controversy which has dogged the story ever since
En quatre minutes, le match a bascule : fumigenes lances sur la pelouse, petard qui explose aux pieds d'un stadier visiblement choque, bagarres entre fans croates dans les travees.
EC l'ombre des hooligans
OH, how I am going to enjoy it next year, seeing Cameron and his cronies hoisted with their own petard, when Scotland votes for independence, "which they will".
Tories are going round in circles; FEEDBACK