be hoist/hoisted by/with your own petard
(redirected from be hoist with your own petard)hoist by/with (one's) own petard
To be injured, ruined, or defeated by one's own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; to have fallen victim to one's own trap or schemes. (Note: "hoist" in this instance is the simple past-tense of the archaic form of the verb, "hoise.") I tried to get my boss fired by planting drugs on him, but I was hoist by my own petard when the police caught me with them beforehand.