Cut off one's nose to spite one's face.
Cut off one's nose to spite one's face.
Meaning in plain English
The saying pictures someone damaging their own face to spite it. It describes retaliation that harms the person pursuing it.
Example
Someone considers whether cancelling useful cooperation solely to punish another person would also damage their own project.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The nose belongs to the same face targeted by the action, making self-defeat visible. A useful application can ask whether an angry response undermines one’s own aim. The image is figurative and does not establish that every refusal or costly boundary is foolish.
When to use it
Use it to examine self-defeating retaliation and its actual consequences.
Keep in mind
It is not a literal instruction or a reason to dismiss legitimate boundaries.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 127; PDF page 22
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Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
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