作茧自缚

作繭自縛
zuòjiǎn-zìfù
idiom #28,075

Meanings

  1. 1 to spin a cocoon around oneself
  2. 2 to be caught in a trap of one's own making
  3. 3 to hoist oneself by one's own petard

Examples

HSK 4
Zhìdìng tài duō xiànzhì, zhǐ huì zuòjiǎn-zìfù.
Setting too many restrictions will only trap yourself.
HSK 7-9
Tā huǎnghuà yuè shuō yuè duō, zuìhòu zuòjiǎn-zìfù, wúfǎ tuōshēn.
He told more and more lies, and in the end trapped himself with no way out.

Tips

memory
Silkworms spin a cocoon () to protect themselves, but in doing so they bind () themselves inside. The image captures perfectly how one can entrap oneself with one's own actions.

Stroke Order

zuò
jiǎn