paint oneself into a corner

Etymology


From the idea that a person painting the floor of a room may inadvertently apply the paint over the whole floor and trap themselves in a corner away from any exit, so that to leave the room the person has no choice but to step on the fresh paint and ruin it.

Verb

 * 1)  To create a predicament or problem for oneself; to do something that leaves one with no good alternatives or solutions.

Translations

 * Danish: male sig selv op i et hjørne
 * Dutch: jezelf in de hoek schilderen
 * Finnish: maalata itsensä nurkkaan
 * French: se peinturer dans un coin
 * Italian: essere con le spalle al muro
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål: male seg inn i et hjørne
 * Nynorsk: måle seg inn i eit hjørne
 * Spanish: meterse en un berenjenal, meterse en un jardín , meterse en la boca del lobo