don't kill the messenger
Also found in: Acronyms.
don't kill the messenger
Don't get angry at or punish someone who is simply delivering bad or undesirable news as they are not responsible for it. A: "What do you mean I'm being sued by my ex-wife? I'll knock your lights out!" B: "Hey man, I'm just doing my job. Don't kill the messenger!"
kill the messenger
To get angry at or punish someone who is simply delivering bad or undesirable news, though they are not responsible for it. Used most commonly in the phrase "don't kill the messenger." I'm a news anchor—it is my job to report the news, even the bad stuff. But some people want to kill the messenger, as if I were the one who caused the bad news to begin with. A: "What do you mean I'm being sued by my ex-wife? I'll knock your lights out!" B: "Hey, I'm just here to deliver the subpoena. Don't kill the messenger!"
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
- Let every man skin his own skunk.
- fall into (someone's or something's) hands
- fall into someone's hands
- fall into the wrong hands
- leave (someone, something, or oneself) (wide) open to (something)
- leave open
- leave yourself wide open to something
- (someone) (just) doesn't know when to quit
- be dealt a bad hand
- dealt