Petard

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. (From the French pétard).

The Devil’s Advocate™ →Go uptown Archegos risk management yesterday. In which the curmudgeonly old sod puts the world to rights. Index — Click ᐅ to expand: The Devil’s Advocate Tell me more Sign up for our newsletter — or just get in touch: for ½ a weekly 🍺 you get to consult JC. Ask about it here.

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

Hence, to be hoist 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