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Introduction

If you make a rod for your own back, it means you are doing something that will cause you problems in the future. Learn this expression here.

Transcript

Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei, and I'm here with Phil. You look a bit stressed Phil.

Phil
I am a bit stressed! I keep volunteering to do extra work, and now I've got so much to do, and I don't know when I'm going to get it done.

Feifei
Maybe you shouldn't have volunteered for so much work. It looks like you made a rod for your own back.

Phil
And now you've given me an expression to look at in this programme – 'make a rod for your own back'. We use it to say that you do something that will cause you problems in future, like volunteering for too much work.

Feifei
In this expression, the rod is the thing that will cause you problems. It's you that will feel the negative consequences of your decisions.

Phil
If someone invites too many people to a party at their house, they might be making a rod for their own back. They will need to buy or make food for lots of people.

Feifei
Let's hear some more examples of people using 'make a rod for your own back'.

Examples
I offered to make a cup a tea at work the other day, and now I've really made a rod for my own back. I have to make the morning tea every day.

I missed a couple of my Spanish lessons, and I've really made a rod for my own back because now I'm going to have to study extra hard for the test.

I offered to referee a kids' football match and now all the parents expect me to do it every week. I've really made a rod for my own back.

Feifei
Sometimes, you might not realise you've made a rod for your own back when you choose to do something.

Phil
Yes. Often when we decide to do something, we don’t realise that it could cause problems in the future and that we are actually making a rod for our own backs.

Feifei
Luckily, there's no way that listening to our programmes could be making a rod for your own back, so make sure that you come back next time for more expressions. See you then!

Phil
Bye!

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