petard

American  

[pi-tahrd] / pɪˈtɑrd /

noun

1. an explosive device formerly used in warfare to blow in a door or gate, form a breach in a wall, etc.

2. a kind of firecracker.

3. Also called Flying Dustbin.  (initial capital letter) a British spigot mortar of World War II that fired a 40-pound (18-kilogram) finned bomb, designed to destroy pillboxes and other concrete obstacles.

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idioms

1. hoist by / with one's own petard, hurt, ruined, or destroyed by the very device or plot one had intended for another.

petard British  

/ pɪˈtɑːd /

noun

1. (formerly) a device containing explosives used to breach a wall, doors, etc

2. being the victim of one's own schemes

3. a type of explosive firework

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Etymology

Origin of petard

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French, equivalent to pet(er) “to break wind” (derivative of pet, from Latin pēditum “a breaking wind,” originally neuter of past participle of pēdere “to break wind”) + -ard noun suffix; -ard

Explanation

A petard was a very small bomb typically used for blowing holes in doors and gates, and not for bombing an entire troop or village. They had cannons for those bigger jobs. Just like the bomb itself, the word petard has mostly fallen out of use today. It may be familiar, however, from the phrase "hoist with your own petard," which comes from Shakespeare (though he called it a petar) and means "to be hurt by your own plan to hurt someone else," "to fall into your own trap," or, essentially, "to be blown up by your own bomb."

Example Sentences

So Raven is about to be hoist with his own high-tech petard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

As the accidental spokesperson for politically conscious casting, he’d rather not be hoisted on his own petard.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2024

Ophelia herself is hoist with the same petard.

From New York Times • Jun. 28, 2023

On the other hand, I was happily hoist by my own obsessive petard by a passing reference to a “dirty martini.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 23, 2023

But posterity has been just: in his anger, he overcharged his weapon, it recoiled, and the engineer has been "hoisted by his own petard."

From The Romance of Biography (Vol 2 of 2) or Memoirs of Women Loved and Celebrated by Poets, from the Days of the Troubadours to the Present Age. 3rd ed. 2 Vols. by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)