return to haunt (one)

(redirected from returned to haunt us)

return to haunt (one)

1. To pursue one in a ghostly or otherwise supernatural form. If you don't do exactly what I want at my funeral, I'll return to haunt you all! The ghost of the business partner he betrayed had returned to haunt him in the night.
2. For a past situation, decision, etc. to cause problems for one in the present or future. With the organized strike shutting down his production line entirely, the CEO's poor treatment of his employees has returned to haunt him. Her remarks during the campaign returned to haunt her in the first debate with he opponent.
3. To come back continually to one's consciousness, as of a thought or memory. The same nightmare returns to haunt me every time I fall asleep. The awful terms on which I ended my friendship with Helen keep returning to haunt me.
See also: haunt, return
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

return to haunt

one Go to come back to haunt one.
See also: haunt, return
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
The Civil War is a seismic event that torments us even from a century and a half away, but it was hardly the only piece of the American past that returned to haunt us in 2017.
2017 didn't make America great again - it proved that they're stuck in the past
The Smell vanished but it returned to haunt us soon after.
It all went horribly pong
Had the ghost of the X-rated faux pas that was 1987's St Cuthbert's Sunday Soccer Squad photograph returned to haunt us? An error that spawned the legendary, grovelling apology: "Eagle-eyed readers have pointed out Alex Trubshaw (seated, front row, third from left) was revealing slightly more than his colleagues.
Fishy tale is fin end of the wedge
Sadly, the only thing missing was some composure in front of goal, as our lack of quality up front returned to haunt us. It is a shame Pardew didn't see fit to give Nile Ranger more game time, as an earlier introduction might have had the desired effect.
PUNTERS PANEL
When the new hosepipe ban comes in on Friday, it will be the first one to be implemented in this region for the past 14 years, but the spectre of a clampdown on indiscriminate use of water has nevertheless returned to haunt us.
Why has spectre of drought returned? LIVERPOOL DAILY POST An independent newspaper Established in 1855
Well, the old problems returned to haunt us against Barnsley, who obviously couldn't believe their luck.
Football: I'm not resigning for my sake, but for the sake of Tranmere. I couldn't let them go down the tubes; If I had stayed on, it's safe to say we would have been relegated
Moreover, some infectious diseases that we thought we had conquered have returned to haunt us, thanks to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.[21,22]
Professionalism, where are you?
"Once again our batting frailties returned to haunt us and with our Achilles heel exposed, they exploited it to the full."
Bay blow chance to beat champs
After a pretty tepid first half, our customary defensive failings returned to haunt us. Coloccini seems stuck in a rut at the minute, and the quicker Steven Taylor and Seb Bassong are restored to the heart of our defence, the better.
PUNTERS PANEL
Taking early retirement was common during the Tory era, mainly to massage the dole figures and, like so many of Thatcher's short term policies, this has returned to haunt us all.
Your Say : Crisis predicted
IT'S enough to strike fear into the most fervent follower of fashion - the over-the-top Eighties have returned to haunt us.
Oh no! We're back to the 80s
Since this new bus firm has decided to run another bus along the same route, the safety issue has returned to haunt us residents like an old horror movie.
Chronicle Live
I must admit I expected us to beat Boro,but the poor defending which has been a feature of late returned to haunt us a gain.
Fan SCENE: Manchester United: King of all comebacks needed
And as the year drew to a close, we watched as the international spectre of terrorism returned to haunt us.
2000 AND TRUE
Rhona said: "I was utterly devastated and it was just awful it had all returned to haunt us."
NOW WE CAN RELAX IN OUR OWN HOME; Joy for family as next-door rapist moves on
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