Meaning of rod for one's back | Babel Free

Definitions

The means of one's own punishment or downfall.

idiomatic

Examples

“"Silcote, you are making a rod for your back in your treatment of that child. She'll live to break your heart for you."”

“Nobody is more wary of Tony Blair's record ratings and the illusion of the Prime Minister's omnipotence than Tony Blair himself. "He thinks his approval ratings are a rod for his back," says one adviser.”

“I can't get over how you parents let your children run riot over you. There must be some discipline in this surely, otherwise you will make a rod for your back when they get older.”

CEFR level