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Anime and Manga
"Once a name is written down in the Death Note, you can't do anything about it. You more than anybody else here should know that. Goodbye, Light Yagami."
— Ryuk, Death Note, Chapter 107, "Curtain"
You never know when the sparks that you helped create will cause a fire and blow back in your direction. If you're already facing into the wind, it's too late.
—Moguro Fukuzou, Laughing Salesman NEW, Episode 7 "The Rule of Mommy Friends"
Comic Books
"You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation!"
—Fantomah, about to kill a villain with the same giant tidal wave he tried to drown the jungle with.
Your machine utilized and magnified my emotions... my energies... it never occurred to you that I could follow you? That I could claim this power?
"Brainiac is gone– Destroyed by his own devices!"
— Superman, Let My People Grow!
There's no running, Dr. Cornelius. I can smell you, whichever part of this place you're hiding in. I hope you appreciate the irony, because I wouldn't even have these senses if you hadn't given me this despicable feral snout. Brought down by your own hubris? I like to think of it as poetic justice.
—Beast, Ultimate X Men
Superman: Do you remember that mountain of graves we noticed on Warworld? That's what gave me the answer! The Warzoons weren't buried in a mass grave as there'd be if the race was destroyed by some great illness!
Supergirl: You're right! The Warzoons must've died one by one! They buried each other — except for the last one buried by the peace-loving Largas!
Superman: Precisely! And there's only one thing on that entire satellite capable of killing the Warzoon one at a time — the control helmet in the command console!
Supergirl: The massive energy-drain must've proven too much for their minds to endure! One by one they were destroyed by the very weapon their warlike race had spent untold centuries creating — one by one, they died — victims of massive cerebral hemorrhage — and their own insatiable lust for power!
Supergirl: You're right! The Warzoons must've died one by one! They buried each other — except for the last one buried by the peace-loving Largas!
Superman: Precisely! And there's only one thing on that entire satellite capable of killing the Warzoon one at a time — the control helmet in the command console!
Supergirl: The massive energy-drain must've proven too much for their minds to endure! One by one they were destroyed by the very weapon their warlike race had spent untold centuries creating — one by one, they died — victims of massive cerebral hemorrhage — and their own insatiable lust for power!
"Once again, his hatred for me clouded his judgment! He overlooked the fact that in altering my recollection of the incident that started our feud...he imprinted his own attitudes on the clone's mind— complete with his own biases, distortions, and paranoia!
Fan Works
"Everything tied back to Shinji's own scheming. He had been snared in a web of his own making. The phrase 'hoisted by his own petard' didn't even begin to cover this sort of thing."
Film — Live-Action
If you're gonna hire Machete to kill the bad guy, you'd better make damn sure the bad guy isn't you!
— Machete trailer, Grindhouse
"Remember when you told me you should mix your own drinks? That's good advice for everybody!"
—Hayley Stark, Hard Candy
Bridge keeper: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
King Arthur: What do you mean? An African or an European swallow?
Bridge keeper: Uh?! I don't know that! (gets magically thrown off the bridge)
King Arthur: What do you mean? An African or an European swallow?
Bridge keeper: Uh?! I don't know that! (gets magically thrown off the bridge)
"The trouble you brew today, you'll drink tomorrow."
—Hisham to Delilah, Samson and Delilah
"Aren't guns just fucking great, Hammerson?"
— Smith, Shoot 'Em Up, after shooting Hammerson with his own gun.
Literature
He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.
— Psalms 7:15-16, The Bible (NIV)
Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.
— Psalms 141:10, The Bible (NIV)
If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
— Proverbs 26:27, The Bible (NIV)
Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
— Ecclesiastes 10:12, The Bible (NIV)
When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
“Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
“Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
— Esther 6:6-10, The Bible (NIV)
"Do you think Saint Thrastus complained when he was strung up by his petard? No! Not one word! That's piety. Now get on with your work, you little ingrate."
"Impaled on your own sword, Gilderoy!'"
— Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"[The Harlequin] had fired off the firecracker rockets that said: I will attend the 115th annual International Medical Association Invocation at 8:00 p.m. precisely. I do hope you will all be able to join me.
The words had burned in the sky, and of course the authorities were there, lying in wait for him. They assumed, naturally, that he would be late. He arrived twenty minutes early, while they were setting up the spiderwebs to trap and hold him, and blowing a large bullhorn, he frightened and unnerved them so that their own moisturized encirclement webs sucked closed, and they were hauled up, kicking and shrieking, high above the amphitheater's floor."
The words had burned in the sky, and of course the authorities were there, lying in wait for him. They assumed, naturally, that he would be late. He arrived twenty minutes early, while they were setting up the spiderwebs to trap and hold him, and blowing a large bullhorn, he frightened and unnerved them so that their own moisturized encirclement webs sucked closed, and they were hauled up, kicking and shrieking, high above the amphitheater's floor."
Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.
— Sherlock Holmes, paraphrasing The Bible, in regard to the death of Doctor Grimesby Roylott in The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Live-Action TV
Britta: Shouldn't have worn that petard if you didn't want to be hoisted by it.
Jeff: ...What do you think the expression "hoisted by your own petard" is referencing?
Britta: I guess I just assumed that in the old days a petard was a special outfit like a leotard, with a lot of fancy buckles and loops on it, and that rich people would wear them when they were feeling especially smug, but then poor people would tie a rope through one of the loops, and hoist them up a pole and then let them dangle there as punishment for being cocky.
Jeff: Never look it up. Your explanation is way better.
Jeff: ...What do you think the expression "hoisted by your own petard" is referencing?
Britta: I guess I just assumed that in the old days a petard was a special outfit like a leotard, with a lot of fancy buckles and loops on it, and that rich people would wear them when they were feeling especially smug, but then poor people would tie a rope through one of the loops, and hoist them up a pole and then let them dangle there as punishment for being cocky.
Jeff: Never look it up. Your explanation is way better.
Bilbo: I used to know this guy, Minty. He had a dog who he'd trained to attack rich people. He was into the whole class-war thing. He called the dog Gramsci after an Italian Marxist
. Rumor has it, it could smell wealth from up to 20 feet. The thing is, it all backfired. Minty won 100 grand on a scratchcard… and Gramsci bit his knees off.
Tim: That's terrible.
Bilbo: Not really. He used the money to buy new knees.
. Rumor has it, it could smell wealth from up to 20 feet. The thing is, it all backfired. Minty won 100 grand on a scratchcard… and Gramsci bit his knees off. Tim: That's terrible.
Bilbo: Not really. He used the money to buy new knees.
"When children learn to devalue others, they can devalue anyone. Even their parents."
—Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
"They burned themselves. With a choice made long ago by a conspiracy of men who thought they could sleep with the enemy. Only to awaken another enemy."
— Fox Mulder on the fate of the Syndicate, The X-Files, "One Son"
Dr. Keppel: You have to admit, Lieutenant; you never would have solved it without using my technique.
Columbo: That's right, Doc. If there was a reward, I'd support your claim to it.
Radio
Sherilyn Harper: I wanted to show them strength in adversity, be an example!
The Doctor: Of course. And for them to understand, you had to make them a little bit afraid.
Sherilyn Harper: You do understand!
The Doctor: Of course I do... and so do they.
Sherilyn Harper: What.
The Doctor: They understand who's been making them afraid. Those people out there heard about Roderick's arrest. I don't think the election's much of an issue for you anymore.
Sherilyn Harper: He covered for me.
The Doctor: They didn't believe him... and why should they? You've been telling them for ages they can't trust people. You made the mob, and now it's coming for you.
The Doctor: Of course. And for them to understand, you had to make them a little bit afraid.
Sherilyn Harper: You do understand!
The Doctor: Of course I do... and so do they.
Sherilyn Harper: What.
The Doctor: They understand who's been making them afraid. Those people out there heard about Roderick's arrest. I don't think the election's much of an issue for you anymore.
Sherilyn Harper: He covered for me.
The Doctor: They didn't believe him... and why should they? You've been telling them for ages they can't trust people. You made the mob, and now it's coming for you.
Tabletop Games
The spear thrown by Kytheon's own hand was the weapon that felled his friends.
Theatre
For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard: and 't shall go hard
Hoist with his own petard: and 't shall go hard
— Hamlet, Hamlet
"Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. I am justly killed with mine own treachery."
— Laertes, Hamlet
Toys
But I'm not my "kind", not anymore — your shadow leeches saw to that. I'm half Toa of Light, half Toa of Shadow. This was what you wanted, wasn't it? Toa consumed by darkness, Toa not hampered by things like mercy or morality. Well, now you can choke on it.
— Takanuva, BIONICLE
Video Games
One's demise is always one's own making.
—Hawkeye Gough, Dark Souls
Ares: I was trying... to make you a great warrior!
Kratos: You succeeded. *finishes off Ares*
Kratos: You succeeded. *finishes off Ares*
"That gun came off one of the same hunter-choppers that you're up against. I always like to bring a little irony to a firefight."
Ansem: KINGDOM HEARTS! Fill me with the power of darkness! Supreme darkness…
Sora: You’re wrong. I now know without a doubt… Kingdom Hearts… is light!
(cue the door to Kingdom Hearts opening to reveal a massive burst of light)
Ansem: …light… but why…? (explodes)
Sora: You’re wrong. I now know without a doubt… Kingdom Hearts… is light!
(cue the door to Kingdom Hearts opening to reveal a massive burst of light)
Ansem: …light… but why…? (explodes)
"I am the architect of my own destruction. So this is it… What is written in the timeline… cannot be changed… [hears the Dahaka looking for him] Come for me, then. In my quest to destroy the Sands of Time, I have been the one to create them…"
— The Prince of Persia, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
"The irony is exquisite, isn't it? Your mutant gifts will be used to bring your kind to its knees. This is your true destiny: the harbinger of mutant extinction."
— Bastion, X-Men: Next Dimension
"You types never learn... You always end up taking yourselves down."
— Yooka to Capital B of Yooka-Laylee just before he starts using guided missiles.
Webcomics
Clinton: I mean, that's nice. Good for them.
Claire: I thought you'd be more excited. A human and a robot, in love!
Clinton: It's not, like, the first time that has happened. And I don't know either of them super-well, so...
Claire: Ugh. I was so hyped up to tell you. What a disappointment.
Clinton: Wait, you wanted me to play it cool, but now you're disappointed that I'm being cool about it?
Claire: W-well-
Clinton: Hah! You thought I was gonna be a dork about it, but it's you who is the dork about it!
Claire: *covering her head* Noooo! My petard!
Claire: I thought you'd be more excited. A human and a robot, in love!
Clinton: It's not, like, the first time that has happened. And I don't know either of them super-well, so...
Claire: Ugh. I was so hyped up to tell you. What a disappointment.
Clinton: Wait, you wanted me to play it cool, but now you're disappointed that I'm being cool about it?
Claire: W-well-
Clinton: Hah! You thought I was gonna be a dork about it, but it's you who is the dork about it!
Claire: *covering her head* Noooo! My petard!
The Pa'anuri hypercannon, the most powerful (and longest ranged) weapon for twelve light years in any direction... hyperspace is a tangled mess, but the Pa'anuri have gotten pretty good at firing through it. Still... "tangled mess". If someone messes with your targeting data, you might not notice the problem until you see that you've missed. Then again, depending on the exact nature of the bad data, you might never notice anything at all...
Web Original
"'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party."
— Adrian Bott on Twitter
on Twitter Web Video
"I killed him with his own technique. Heh, isn't that a kick in the—AUGH!"
— Cell, Dragon Ball Z Abridged, after thinking he killed Goku with a Kamehameha.
"Daddy, I don't want to be on Namek anymore…"
— Freeza after getting bisected by one of his own Death Saucers, Dragon Ball Z Abridged
King Kai: Freeza — got cut in half!
Tien: Wow. I didn't think Goku had it in him.
King Kai: He doesn't. Freeza did it to himself.
Tien: Wow. I didn't think Goku had it in him.
King Kai: He doesn't. Freeza did it to himself.
"Every– everything you hate about the prison was YOUR idea. You should exp– You should– Y'know what? Y'know what, I'm GLAD! I'm glad you haven't seen the light in a while! This was literally– this was literally the experience YOU WANTED for the prisoners. You– you... This is– You made this bed! Literally! I may have built it, I may have engineered it, but it was– [...] We both know– You told me to build this so you could put Tommy in here, didn't you? That's why you wanted people to be able to visit, that way you could FLAUNT Tommy, who you've got stuck in a cell, in front of everyone. That's why you wanted people to be able to visit. That's why you didn't want the courtyard, because you didn't WANT that for Tommy. And you didn't want him to have a good place to live, you didn't want him to have good food, because you– You wanted to give him RAW POTATOES! You didn't want to give him steak! You just wanted him to have a HORRIBLE life in here! So... Keep it for yourself, Dream. You... You DESERVE this."
— Sam, Dream SMP
"'Let's overthrow the palace and cut all their heads off!' said Robespierre, cutting everybody's head off until someone eventually got mad and cut his head off."
"See, normally this is where I would say, 'Well I got the correct answer, so I should just get to roll with it', right? I was clearly correct. Unfortunately, earlier on, I said a wrong answer and he gave it to me and I said that we're gonna go off his decision, which means I fucked myself and I have to reset!"
Western Animation
"I was hoisted by my own petard! The one petard I thought would never hoist me!"
— Todd, BoJack Horseman
"Ironic. Done in by his own creation."
— Daffy Duck, The Looney Tunes Show
Narrator: Well, Boris tried to drop the Treasure of Monte Zoom on our heroes, but wound up hoist with his own petard. Meanwhile...
Boris: Hold it! Hold it! What means this "hoist with my own... what's this"?
Narrator: It means you fell into your own trap.
Boris: Oh, well why didn't you say so? Okay, let's go.
Boris: Hold it! Hold it! What means this "hoist with my own... what's this"?
Narrator: It means you fell into your own trap.
Boris: Oh, well why didn't you say so? Okay, let's go.
— Rocky and Bullwinkle, "The Treasure of Monte Zoom"
Oh, foiled by my own shoddy merchandiiiiiiiise!
Sideshow Bob: Oh, dear...Sideshow Bob...hoist...on his own petard...
Lisa: It's hoist with his own petard.
Sideshow Bob: Oh, get a life.
Lisa: It's hoist with his own petard.
Sideshow Bob: Oh, get a life.
SpongeBob: So, you were an alien all the time, and you didn't even tell me!
Patrick: I didn't even know!
SpongeBob: Yeah? Well, I got you now!
Patrick: Oh, but it's not you who's got me, it's— [captures himself with his own net gun] Me that's got me!
Patrick: I didn't even know!
SpongeBob: Yeah? Well, I got you now!
Patrick: Oh, but it's not you who's got me, it's— [captures himself with his own net gun] Me that's got me!
"The only thing Zorran succeeded in doing that was trapping himself instead of the Star Tugs."
— Captain Starr, TUGS
Miscellaneous
Take care. Your curses last too long, and may turn on someone you love.
— Richard III, The White Queen
