harm (redirected from harming)

harm a hair on someone's head

to hurt someone. He adores the girl - he wouldn't harm a hair on her head. (often negative) If he so much as harms a hair on her head, I won't be responsible for my actions.

See also: hair, head

wouldn't harm/hurt a fly

if you say that someone wouldn't hurt a fly, you mean that they are a gentle person and that they would not do anything to injure or upset anyone. Damian just isn't the violent type. He wouldn't hurt a fly.

See also: fly, hurt, wouldn't

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do more harm than good

to be damaging rather than helpful. Giving children too much freedom often does more harm than good.

Usage notes: usually said about things that are intended to be helpful but do not have a good result

See also: good, more

no harm, no foul

there is no problem if no serious damage was done. In his excitement, he deleted all the files, but they were restored later from a backup copy — no harm, no foul.

Etymology: from the use of this phrase in basketball (= a sport) to say that if an action that is against the rules has no effect on the results of the game, there should be no foul (= punishment)

See also: foul