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Glite Dictionary
rod for someone's back

rod for someone's back

9.6
A future problem someone creates for themselves that causes trouble later
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : causa de problemas
  • His careless spending became a rod for his back.

Examples

  • By ignoring the warnings, she made a rod for her own back that would haunt her later.

  • Failing to address the problem early created a rod for their back down the line.

  • His continual procrastination was a rod for his back once deadlines arrived.

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

  • By ignoring the warnings, she made a rod for her own back that would haunt her later.

  • His continual procrastination became a rod for his back when deadlines began to pile up.

  • Don't create a rod for your back by avoiding difficult conversations now.

Antonyms

advantage
∞ 2.8

Something that helps a person do better than others

blessing
269 1.4

A good thing or situation that brings happiness

Surface Forms

rod for someone's back singular
rods for someone's back plural

Morphology

rod + for + someone's + back

The meaning 'something that causes future trouble or punishment someone brings on themselves' cannot be derived from the literal parts 'rod' + 'for' + 'back' — a B1 learner would interpret a physical rod positioned near a back rather than a metaphorical self-inflicted consequence. This is an idiomatic, culturally grounded expression (often phrased 'a rod for one's own back') whose sense is not transparently compositional and therefore unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Rod for someone's back may come from the image of making a 'rod', a stick that will be used to beat a person's back later as punishment. So it now means doing something that will cause 'trouble' or punishment for yourself in the future.