Aside from historical references to siege warfare, and occasional contemporary references to fireworks, petard is almost always encountered in variations of the phrase " hoist with one's …

Jul 17, 2020 · The OED offers several different senses of this word in its entry for ‘petard’, but the earliest and chief meaning is: ‘A small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with …

Literally, the phrase means a bomb-maker was blown off the ground (hoist) by his own bomb (petard). It commonly refers to an ironic reversal in which one is taken down by one's own …

Hoist is the past participle of hoise, an earlier form of the verb hoist, "to be lifted up," while a petar or petard is a small bomb used in early modern warfare. The phrase "hoist with his own …

It is farcical that any industry should be put into a situation in which it is hoist by its own petard as sales rise.

PETARD definition: an explosive device formerly used in warfare to blow in a door or gate, form a breach in a wall, etc. See examples of petard used in a sentence.

There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun petard, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Definition of petard noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

3 senses: 1. (formerly) a device containing explosives used to breach a wall, doors, etc 2. → See hoist with one's own petard.... Click for more definitions.

Nov 1, 2025 · A fossil word in modern English, rare outside the set phrase hoist by one's own petard (and variants). Consequently, often given folk etymologies relating petard to words …