cut off one's nose to spite one's face

: to penetrate with or as if with an edged instrument

: to hurt the feelings of

: to strike sharply with a cutting effect

: a product of cutting: such as

: an opening made with an edged instrument

: a wound made by something sharp : gash

: marked by a well-developed and highly defined musculature

: from a place or position

: at a distance in space or time

: from a course : aside

used as a function word to indicate physical separation or distance from a position of rest, attachment, or union

: to seaward of

: from the possession or charge of

: seaward

: right

: more removed or distant

: to go away : depart

: kill, murder

: competition : contest

: the part of the face that bears the nostrils and covers the anterior part of the nasal cavity

: the anterior part of the head at the top or end of the muzzle : snout, proboscis

: the sense of smell : olfaction

: to detect by or as if by smell : scent

: to push or move with the nose

: to move (something, such as a vehicle) ahead slowly or cautiously

: petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart

: an instance of spite

: annoy, offend

: to fill with spite

: to treat maliciously (as by shaming or thwarting)

: the front part of the head that in humans extends from the forehead to the chin and includes the mouth, nose, cheeks, and eyes

: the face as a means of identification : countenance

: presence, sight

: to confront impudently

: to line near the edge especially with a different material

: to cover the front or surface of