In English
“anansi's own rope ties anansi”
Meaning
'Anancy rope tie Anancy' — Anancy's own rope ties up Anancy. The trickster is caught by his own trick, the proverb warns: a schemer's own cunning eventually turns and traps him, and the very rope he set to bind others binds him instead. Drawn from the world of the Anancy stories, where the clever spider so often outsmarts himself, it is a caution that deceit and plotting have a way of rebounding on the plotter, and that what you rig to catch another may snare you.
Examples
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Him tell so much lie him ketch inna dem; Anancy rope tie Anancy.
He told so many lies he got caught in them; the trickster is trapped by his own trick.
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Di plan she set fi trap smaddy trap harself; Anancy rope tie Anancy.
The plan she set to trap someone trapped herself; your own scheme can bind you.
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Nuh dig hole fi nobody — Anancy rope tie Anancy.
Don't dig a pit for anyone — your own trap can catch you.
Origin
From the Anancy (Anansi) spider-trickster tales of Akan origin, central to Jamaican folklore: the spider who catches everyone with his web-rope is himself caught by it — cunning undone by its own cunning. See [[anansi]].
How it’s used
Said when a schemer or trickster is undone by their own scheme.