Petard
|
Let it work,
For ’tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard; and ’t shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines
And blow them at the moon.
- —Hamlet, III, iv
Petard
/pɛˈtɑːd/ (n.)
A small bomb, comprising a box filled with powder, used to blast down a door or to make a hole in a wall.
A squib; a firecracker.
Hence, to be hoist[1] by one’s own ~: to blow oneself up. Something that financial institutions are periodically prone: if a little bomb goes off on your balance-sheeet will frighten the bejesus out of the financial analyst community and may cause a bank run.
See also
- Lucky
- The first rule of Systemic Solvency Club
References
- ↑ Note: “hoist” here means to be thrown into the air, rather than raised by some kind of winch.