to pave the road to hell
- idiom
- Informal
:
abrir la puerta al desastre
- Her neglect of safety regulations will only pave the road to hell for the workers on the site.
Examples
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By failing to address the underlying issues in his team, he is inadvertently paving the road to hell for future failures.
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If we ignore the environmental impact of our project, we might pave the road to hell for future generations.
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If his plan is to pave the road to hell, his presumed good intentions will serve him well, but I like to judge intentions within the context of goals, and from what I've seen so far.
Blog text (27)
Synonyms
20
3.9
Choosing the wrong direction or decision causes trouble
9
7.3
Take an unnecessary risk that might cause bad luck
3
7.1
To do something that makes you fail
1
8.1
Lose money or get hurt because of a mistake you make
To have unexpected problems because of your own mistake
Antonyms
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal meanings of 'pave' (to lay down a path), 'road' (a way), and 'hell' (a place of suffering) combine to suggest a metaphorical idea of creating a path that leads to a bad outcome, so a learner could infer a general negative sense. However, the specific idiomatic nuance — that actions (often well-intentioned or negligent) inadvertently lead to disastrous results — relies on cultural/proverbial knowledge and is not fully predictable from the parts, making full comprehension unlikely without prior exposure.
Etymology
Pave the road to hell gives a clear picture: people are laying stones to make a smooth road straight to hell. This shows how actions, even when meant well, can make it easier to reach 'bad results', so the phrase means 'to take actions that lead to harm'.