"Shoot Yourself in the Foot" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 22/07/2020

0:00 - How to Say, “Shoot yourself in the foot…”
0:21 - Examples of “Shoot yourself in the foot…”
1:09 - Meaning of “Shoot yourself in the foot…”
1:46 - Origin of “Shoot yourself in the foot…”
3:56 - More Examples of “Shoot yourself in the foot…”
4:51 - Conclusion

“Shoot yourself in the foot…”

Has someone ever warned you not to, “shoot yourself in the foot”, perhaps because you were about to do something bad for yourself?

“Don’t shoot yourself in the foot! Don’t overdo your workout,” your coach might warn you not to strain yourself the day before a big event.

Maybe your child was greedily carrying two pieces of cake at once and dropped them both, “I told you to take one piece at a time! You just shot yourself in the foot!”

“Don’t shoot yourself in the foot… go to bed early,” your parents might tell you the night before a big exam.

As you can see, the idiom, “shoot yourself in the foot”, means that you are about to do something that will result in an outcome that you do not want.

You may be “shooting yourself in the foot” because you are being greedy, or perhaps you’re just trying too hard, or simply unaware of the consequences.

The idiom originates from World War 1, where a soldier would literally shoot himself in the foot, in order to avoid going on a mission in which he would surely die.

Of course, the soldier did this on purpose and did it in order to save his life; though it meant bearing pain and disgrace.

Nowadays however, “shooting yourself in the foot”, is only used when you sabotage yourself unintentionally and the outcome is worse (not better).

Though this specific English idiom is fairly recent, the idea behind it is much older and can be found in many languages.

In Spanish, they say, “get shot in the butt.”

In French, it’s “saw off the branch you are sitting on.”

Chinese like to say, “lift up stone, drop it on own foot.”

In Hindi, you drop, “an axe on your foot.”

In Japanese, you “dig your own grave.”

The idiom, “dig your own grave”, is also found in English and it has pretty much the same meaning as “shoot yourself in the foot”, though it is more serious in tone.

“They recorded themselves graffiting the wall, they shot themselves in the foot,” a police officer might say about some teenagers that were charged with vandalism.

“If you try to save time by cooking too many dishes at once, you’ll end up shooting yourself in the foot,” your mom might tell you as you’re preparing food for a party.

Maybe you’re warning your friend, “Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by trying to negotiate a super low rent for the apartment; the price is already fair and you love it.”

So, if you ever see that someone might be inadvertently going against their own interests, make sure to warn them, “Don’t shoot yourself in the foot!”

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