Dictionary

shoot oneself in the foot en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To act against one's own interests; to unintentionally behave self-destructively.
   • "I've always been the guy who shoots himself in the foot and squanders every opportunity," he says. "Now it's like, 'Do I throw it all away — or just try?'" 2009 August, SPIN, volume 25, number 8, page 62:
   • but as President he frequently shoots himself in the foot. Some of his erroneous public statements are dillies. 1982 April, “Reagan shoots from the lip”, in Black Enterprise, volume 12, number 9, page 16:
   • Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor who is of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy, told the Guardian that Trump "may have shot himself in the foot" with the comments. "Criminal intent can be hard to prove, but when a potential defendant says something easily seen as intimidating or threatening to those investigating the case it becomes easier," Aftergut said. 2022 February 7, Peter Stone, “Trump's incendiary Texas speech may have deepened his legal troubles, experts say”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2022:
   • The countries that stopped shooting themselves in the foot were able to break into new export markets 2007, Paul Collier, The bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it, page 85:
   • The fear is that the economic aftermath of this crisis, like the virus itself, might be toughest on those with pre-existing conditions – including otherwise thriving western countries choosing this moment in history to shoot themselves in the foot. 2020 April 9, Gaby Hinsliff, “We used to moan about normal life, now our fear is we'll never get it back”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Relateds

footgun · own goal · hoist by one's own petard · dig oneself in a hole · dig a hole for oneself

Synonyms

dig one's own grave · foul one's own nest

Translations (26)

sv skjuta sig själv i foten (to act against one's own interest) · es tirar piedras contra el propio tejado (to act against one's own interest) · nl in de vingers snijden (to act against one's own interest) · pt dar um tiro no pé (to act against one's own interest) · ru на кото́ром сиди́шь (to act against one's own interest) · es pegarse un tiro en el pie (to act against one's own interest) · no skyte seg selv i foten (to act against one's own interest) · pl grabić sobie (to act against one's own interest) · ru пили́ть сук (to act against one's own interest) · pl strzelić sobie w stopę (to act against one's own interest) · ro își bate cuie în talpă (to act against one's own interest) · it darsi la zappa sui piedi (to act against one's own interest) · hu maga alatt vágja a fát (to act against one's own interest) · tl gisahin sa sariling mantika (to act against one's own interest) · it spararsi sui piedi (to act against one's own interest) · fr se tirer une balle dans le pied (to act against one's own interest) · el βάζω τα χεράκια μου και βγάζω τα ματάκια μου (to act against one's own interest) · fi sahata omaa oksaansa (to act against one's own interest) · fi ampua itseään jalkaan (to act against one's own interest) · ja 墓穴を掘る (to act against one's own interest) · ru вы́стрелить себе́ в но́гу (to act against one's own interest) · de sich ins eigene Knie schießen (to act against one's own interest) · da skyde sig selv i foden (to act against one's own interest) · hu lábon lövi magát (to act against one's own interest) · cmn 搬石頭砸自己的腳 /搬石头砸自己的脚 (to act against one's own interest) · pl strzelać sobie w stopę (to act against one's own interest)