0
Cavanbas99 Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

He was hoist by his own petard?

0or is it, "He was hoisted by his own petard?" 02br
02br
00the -ed version may seem more "normal," but i've seen some sources 02br
00that say it should be the former. 02br
02br
00What say all of you? 02br
02br
00Thanks. 0-
  

Top answer

0 hi cavanbas99 02br 02br 00I have only ever seen "hoist" by his own petard. 0-

— Abbie1948

  • 0 hi cavanbas99 02br 02br 00I have only ever seen "hoist" by his own petard.
  • 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

9 Answers
0
0 hi cavanbas99 02br
02br
00I have only ever seen "hoist" by his own petard. 0-
0
0
0 Hi Guys, 02br
00I'm for 'hoist', too. 02br
00Shakespeare said 'Hoist with (sic) his own petard' (Hamlet) so to some extent it depends on whether your intention is to quote him. 02br
00Clive 0-
0
0
0 I believe 'hoist' was the past tense of the verb 'to hoise', in Shakespeare's day. 02br
02br
00To add -ed would make the word doubly past. 02br
02br
00MrP 0-
0
0
0 My dictionary says "hoist with his own petard" and that "hoise" was a dialectal variant of "hoist". No mention of past tense. 02br
02br
00CJ 0-
0
0
0and a "petard" is a small bomb. 050010id15
0
0
0 Thanks Abbie, since there was no definition under the petard's entry in both the Cobuild and the Cambridge! 0-
0
0
0petard: 02br
02br
001598, "small bomb used to blow in doors and breech walls," from Fr. pétard (1580), from M.Fr. péter "break wind," from O.Fr. pet "a ****," from L. peditum, properly neut. pp. of pedere "to break wind" (in M.L. pettus). Surviving in phrase hoist with one's own petard (or some variant) "blown up with one's own bomb," which is ult. from Shakespeare (1605): 
0
0
0Thanks Mr. Micawber. Great stuff! I feel a whole new thread opening here!050010id2
0
0
0 I agree with Abbie, thanks Mr.Micawber! 0-
0

Related Questions