bite (one's) nose off to spite (one's) face

bite (one's) nose off to spite (one's) face

To seek retribution against someone else in a manner that is ultimately harmful or disadvantageous to oneself. He fired Tom for criticizing his managerial skills, but Tom accounts for nearly 75% of his branch's quarterly sales, so all he's really done is bitten his nose off to spite his face. I know you're mad at your parents, but running away is only going to make your own life harder. Don't bite your nose off to spite your face.

See also: bite, face, nose, off, spite, to

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