SSC Selection Post 2025 PYQ — Question 74

SSC Selection Post - Higher Secondary Level - 24th July 2025 - Shift 2 • English • Q74

Choose the correct meaning of Idiom "Hoist with one's own petard".

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Explanation

Correct Answer

Fall victim to one's own plan

Explanation

The idiom "hoist with one's own petard" means to be harmed, destroyed, or caught by the very trap, plan, or weapon that you created to use against someone else. A "petard" was a small medieval explosive device used to breach gates or walls, and the phrase literally describes the builder or user being blown upward ("hoisted") by their own faulty bomb.

Key Points

Core Definition Hoist with one's own petard (to be sabotaged by one's own clever scheme).

Historical Origin Shakespearian usage referencing medieval demolition devices backfiring on the operator.