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Painting somebody into corner

Posted by David FG on June 16, 2006

In Reply to: Painting somebody into corner posted by Mark on June 16, 2006

: What is the meaning of " Painting somebody into corner"?

I think it is usually 'painting one's self into a corner' but that is probably of little importance.

Picture the scene: you want to paint the floor of a room. You start at the door, moving backwards, painting as you go. You will reach a corner, with everything in front of you painted, and you are unable to get out, as you are backed into a corner (another idiom).

Hence, 'you have painted yourself into a corner' means that you have done something which means that you are in a position from which you can't extricate yourself.

DFG

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