paint oneself into a corner
Get oneself into a difficulty from which one can't extricate oneself. For example, By volunteering to do more work in the office and then taking a freelance job, George has painted himself into a corner. This idiom uses the graphic image of painting all of the floor except for the corner one stands in, so that one cannot leave without stepping on wet paint.
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Nearby words
- painstaking,
- paint,
- paint black,
- paint bridge,
- paint horse,
- paint pot,
- paint roller,
- paint stripper,
- paint the town red,
- paint-by-numbers
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.