Definition
The means of one's own punishment or downfall.
In Context
- ""Silcote, you are making a rod for your back in your treatment of that child. She'll live to break your heart for you.""
- "Nobody is more wary of Tony Blair's record ratings and the illusion of the Prime Minister's omnipotence than Tony Blair himself. "He thinks his approval ratings are a rod for his back," says one adviser."
- "I can't get over how you parents let your children run riot over you. There must be some discipline in this surely, otherwise you will make a rod for your back when they get older."