Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself

A person will bring about his or her own misfortune if given the opportunity.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I think this one has been used so much in so many different eras that we can lodge it in the same category of “if you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas” and “give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself.”