“To be “hoist by [or with] your own petard” is to be blown up by your own bomb. A petard was a medieval engine of war consisting originally of a bell-shaped metal container filled with explosives. It was used to blow in a door or a gate or breach a wall. Premature explosion was an ever-present danger. In other words, you could be hoist by your own petard. But what is also interesting is the derivation of the word “petard”. It comes from the French word peter, meaning to break wind.”
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I was a BB Stacker in the Air Force and I had to blow up old ordnances from time to time, but nothing as old as a petard.
But I will say that a pallet of old 500 lb GP bombs sure does break a lot of wind.
Lordy, but I’d like to see that!
From a nice distance, of course.