cut off one's nose to spite one's face

• cut off one's face to spite one's nose

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cut off one's nose to spite one's face (third-person singular simple present cuts off one's nose to spite one's face, present participle cutting off one's nose to spite one's face, simple past and past participle cut off one's nose to spite one's face)

1. (idiomatic) To harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary.

• dig one's own grave
• hoist by one's own petard
• shoot oneself in the foot
• sow dragon's teeth

• “cut off one's nose to spite one's face”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “cut off your nose to spite your face”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “cut off your nose to spite your face”, in Collins English Dictionary.