Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
make a rod for one's own back

make a rod for one's own back

9.5
Do something that causes trouble for yourself later
  • idiom
  • Archaic
: hacerse daño a sí mismo
  • By taking on so many extra responsibilities, she was making a rod for her own back.

Examples

  • Don't make a rod for your own back by ignoring the rules!

  • If you keep lending him money, you'll only be making a rod for your own back.

  • His refusal to ask for help was making a rod for his own back.

  • He tends to make a rod for his own back with his poor decisions.

  • By ignoring the warning signs, she is making a rod for her own back.

  • If you continue to procrastinate on your assignments, you are making a rod for your own back.

  • His careless spending habits are sure to make a rod for his own back in the future.

Synonyms

to shoot oneself in the foot
vsmake a rod for one's own back
  • Informal
20 8.4

Do or say something that harms your own chances

involves likely future problems rather than accidental immediate self-harm
to tempt fate
vsmake a rod for one's own back
  • Informal
9 7.3

Take an unnecessary risk that might cause bad luck

focuses on creating trouble by action rather than courting risky luck
to dig one's own grave
vsmake a rod for one's own back
  • Informal
3 7.1

To do something that makes you fail

is about causing future trouble rather than complete failure or ruin
stick for your own back
vsmake a rod for one's own back
  • Informal
9.9

To create problems for yourself later

has identical meaning but is the more common traditional idiom
to dig a hole for oneself
vsmake a rod for one's own back
  • Informal
7.9

To cause problems for yourself because of your actions

is about actions likely to cause future trouble or suffering for oneself

Antonyms

to avoid
∞ 1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

How Harmful

to dig one's own grave
  • Informal
3 7.1
make a rod for one's own back
  • Archaic
9.5
to ask for trouble
  • Informal
12 4.8

Surface Forms

make a rod for one's own back main

Morphology

make + a + rod + for + one + own + back

Although the parts (rod, own, back) evoke a literal image, the proverb-like meaning 'to cause future trouble for oneself' is not directly derivable from those constituents without cultural or historical knowledge about self-inflicted punishment. This expression is idiomatic and metaphorical rather than compositionally predictable, so a B1 learner who only knows the individual words would likely not infer the intended sense.

Etymology

Make a rod for one's own back comes from the image of someone making a short stick, a rod, that is later used to hit their own back. So, if you 'make a rod for your own back', you are doing something that will cause you trouble later.