English

Verb

blow up in one's face

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To fail disastrously.
   • 1972, James Whittaker, Albert Trieschman (editors), Children Away from Home: A Sourcebook of Residential Treatment,

     Whether the specific pecking order of the game I let them play today had anything to do with the fact that it blew up in my face after five minutes is a question that can be answered only in empirical terms.

   • 1999, Dena Rosenbloom, Mary Beth Williams and Barbara E. Watkins, Life after trauma: a workbook for healing,

     If I took the risk to speak with my friend and the whole thing blew up in my face, I'd probably feel ashamed and exposed whenever I thought about it for a very, very long time.

   • 2002, Joan Barfoot, Critical injuries, page 118:

     So I wish you luck, but don't come crying to me when it blows up in your face.

Translations

See also

• hoist by one's own petard