A rod for his own back

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on July 22, 2007

In Reply to: A rod for his own back posted by Sam on July 22, 2007

: I hear this said by pals of mine a lot 'he's made a rod for his own back' though no-one seems to be able to offer an explanation. Can anyone help??

"Rod" in this phrase means a whip. It means "to set up a situation that will hurt you more than anyone else". I can't find an origin for it though. (VSD)