come right back to bite

English translation: it has turned out to be a bad decision / he has brought these problems on himself

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:come right back to bite
Selected answer:it has turned out to be a bad decision / he has brought these problems on himself
Entered by: Petro Ebersöhn (X)

09:50 Jun 28, 2014
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Slang
English term or phrase: come right back to bite
This is a term in a short story, probably American slang. The guy is posing as Santa in a mall. Sentence:

"So far, the idea of getting a seasonal job at the mall during the holidays had come right back to bite."

It goes on then, complaining about all the negatives he is experiencing.

Can someone help please? Or do you need more information?
Petro Ebersöhn (X)
Local time: 23:47
it has turned out to be a bad decision / he has brought these problems on himself
Explanation:
Yes, certainly it means he's not enjoying it, he's having a bad time, but the specific sense of "come back to bite (him)" is that he realises that all these negative things are the result of the deciding to take the job: it is his idea of getting the job that has come back to bite him. So the emphasis is on the idea that this decision has has unpleasant consequences. All the bad stuff he's living through now is the result of that decision. So the emphasis is on the fact that it was a bad move to take the job in the first place; he has unwittingly caused himself all this trouble which makes it all the worse.

"Come back to bite" is an expression that conveys above all unforeseen negative consequences of decisions people make, specifically unforeseen costs to themselves.

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-06-28 11:29:51 GMT)
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"Come back to bite" very often has the sense of paying the price for our mistakes, sometimes with the idea that we did something wrong to gain some advantage and it's turned out to our disadvantage. You can say that someone's lies have come back to bite them, meaning that those lies are now causing them problems. Metaphorically it's the idea of using an animal to bite someone or something and then having that animal turn on you and bite you. "The biter bit".
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:47
Grading comment
Thanks, Charles.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1it has turned out to be a bad decision / he has brought these problems on himself
Charles Davis
4 +1he's now experiencing all the negative things about the job
Yvonne Gallagher


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
it has turned out to be a bad decision / he has brought these problems on himself


Explanation:
Yes, certainly it means he's not enjoying it, he's having a bad time, but the specific sense of "come back to bite (him)" is that he realises that all these negative things are the result of the deciding to take the job: it is his idea of getting the job that has come back to bite him. So the emphasis is on the idea that this decision has has unpleasant consequences. All the bad stuff he's living through now is the result of that decision. So the emphasis is on the fact that it was a bad move to take the job in the first place; he has unwittingly caused himself all this trouble which makes it all the worse.

"Come back to bite" is an expression that conveys above all unforeseen negative consequences of decisions people make, specifically unforeseen costs to themselves.

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-06-28 11:29:51 GMT)
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"Come back to bite" very often has the sense of paying the price for our mistakes, sometimes with the idea that we did something wrong to gain some advantage and it's turned out to our disadvantage. You can say that someone's lies have come back to bite them, meaning that those lies are now causing them problems. Metaphorically it's the idea of using an animal to bite someone or something and then having that animal turn on you and bite you. "The biter bit".

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:47
Does not meet criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Thanks, Charles.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jack Doughty
31 mins
  -> Thanks, Jack
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
he's now experiencing all the negative things about the job


Explanation:
he might have had doubts about taking on the job in the first place, and now he's possibly regretting his decision as he is not having a very positive experience....

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Note added at 10 mins (2014-06-28 10:01:48 GMT)
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the expression means that there are repercussions

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Note added at 16 mins (2014-06-28 10:07:12 GMT)
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http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/come-back...
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090426162956A...

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Note added at 5 hrs (2014-06-28 15:28:04 GMT)
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Welcome to Proz by the way!

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 21:47
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
3 hrs
  -> many thanks Tina:-)
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