nourish a viper in one's bosom
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To care for someone who will eventually harm you
Literally: to feed a snake on one's chest
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
She nourished a viper in her bosom by marrying a man who turned out to be abusive
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “nourish a viper in one's bosom” mean?
To care for someone who will eventually harm you Literally: to feed a snake on one's chest
Is “nourish a viper in one's bosom” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“nuôi ong tay áo” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.