Nearby Words

shoot oneself in the foot

Slang Dictionary

shoot (oneself) in the foot definition


  1. tv.
    to cause oneself difficulty; to be the author of one's own doom. : Again, he shot himself in the foot with his open and honest dealings with the press.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Shoot oneself in the foot is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

shoot oneself in the foot

Foolishly harm one's own cause, as in He really shot himself in the foot, telling the interviewer all about the others who were applying for the job he wanted. This colloquial term alludes to an accidental shooting as opposed to a deliberate one done so as to avoid military service.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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