proverb · Words worth keeping
Don't cut your nose off to spite your face.
Don't cut your nose off to spite your face.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Do not choose a response that harms your own interests mainly to express spite. Check whether an angry refusal or retaliatory act serves a worthwhile purpose or merely makes the situation worse for you.
Example
A participant keeps their useful copies of a shared project after leaving a disagreement, instead of deleting their own work simply to make a dramatic final gesture.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The exaggerated bodily image makes the self-defeating consequence obvious: damaging part of oneself cannot sensibly punish another part. Figuratively, a person may reject a useful option or create extra difficulty to show displeasure. The proverb is not literal advice about injury. It also should not be used to dismiss every costly boundary or refusal; some losses are worth accepting to protect a principle or avoid continued harm. The useful comparison asks what the action achieves beyond expressing anger. A considered choice can involve sacrifice without being spiteful, while a satisfying gesture may fail to address the original problem.
When to use it
Use it when retaliation or a gesture of anger risks an avoidable loss to oneself.
Keep in mind
A costly boundary can be justified; inconvenience alone does not make a refusal self-defeating or spiteful.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English