Cut Off the Nose to Spite the Face

The idiom “to cut off your nose to spite your face” has been attributed to a Medieval nun who described women cutting off their noses to look unattractive and thus preserve their chastity. Whether that story is true, cutting off someone’s nose was a pretty common form of punishment back then. The gist of that saying also appears in Henri IV’s statement about “burning Paris to save Paris.” This is part of a complete episode.