HOIST WITH HIS OWN PETARD

The other day I taught my English class the meaning of "hoist with his own petard". A petard was the mediæval prototype of a bomb, which was raised in a siege engine and flung over the walls of the town that was being besieged in the hope that it would explode on landing and do damage. Being hoist along with the bomb would not have been a good idea; so the expression has come to mean "to have to live with the consequences", even if they are unpleasant.

The expression could also be used in the context of Danish politics. Lars Løkke Rasmussen is desperately trying to portray the tax consequences of his many benefits-in-kind as a private matter, which has nothing to do with other politicians, voters, the media or anyone else. The problem is that when current Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt had tax issues some years ago (issues which are still being investigated today), Lars Løkke and his lieutenants were in the forefront of attempts to pressure her to make her tax affairs public. Pressure which won out in the end.

As the 16-year olds in my English class could now tell him, he is hoist with his own petard.

Walter Blotscher