3 thoughts on “What’s German for “hoist on your own petard”?

  1. [Language nerd trigger warning.]

    Denn es ist Sport, den Ingenieur haben
    Hoist mit seiner eigenen Waffe

    In Shakespeare's time all engineers were military engineers, in charge of building and blowing up fortifications, building siege engines, trebuchets and the like. A "petard" was a mine or bomb; "hoist" means blown up or injured.

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