box oneself into a corner en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To create a predicament or problem for oneself; to do something that leaves one with no good alternatives or solutions.
Brüno was a case of diminishing returns, intermittently amusing but not nearly as bracing or funny as Borat—it didn’t help that Brüno was the most thinly conceived of all his Da Ali G Show characters—and the lead-up to Baron Cohen’s new comedy, The Dictator, made it look like he’d boxed himself into a corner.
2012 May 15, Scott Tobias, “Film: Reviews: The Dictator”, in The Onion AV Club:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| boxed oneself into a corner | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| boxed oneself into a corner | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| boxing oneself into a corner | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| boxes oneself into a corner | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Synonyms
back oneself into a corner · paint oneself into a corner · write oneself into a corner