Idioms for backstabber are fun phrases that mean something different from the literal words you see on the page. People use them every day to add color to their conversations and share feelings quickly. In this article, you will learn many helpful idioms related to backstabbers and untrustworthy people.
In this lesson, we’ll look at Idioms that mean dealing with betrayal and dishonest friends. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Backstabber
1. Stab in the back
Meaning: Betraying someone who trusted you when they are not expecting it.
For Example: Leo felt deeply hurt when his teammate gave him a sudden stab in the back during the election. / A true friend will never give you a stab in the back.
Other Ways to Say: Betray someone / Double-cross someone
2. Wolf in sheep’s clothing
Meaning: A dangerous or dishonest person who pretends to be harmless and friendly.
For Example: We thought he was a kind helper, but he turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. / Be careful who you trust because a wolf in sheep’s clothing can look very sweet.
Other Ways to Say: Fake friend / Hidden enemy
3. Two-faced
Meaning: Being dishonest by acting friendly to your face while saying mean things behind your back.
For Example: Maya realized her classmate was two-faced after hearing the gossip she spread. / It is hard to trust someone who acts two-faced at school.
Other Ways to Say: Insincere / Deceitful person
4. Bite the hand that feeds you
Meaning: Harming or turning against someone who has helped and supported you.
For Example: Sharing your lunch with him only for him to insult you later is like biting the hand that feeds you. / Do not bite the hand that feeds you when teachers try to help.
Other Ways to Say: Show ingratitude / Turn against a helper
5. Throw someone under the bus
Meaning: Betraying a partner or friend to save yourself from trouble or punishment.
For Example: A backstabber will quickly throw you under the bus when the teacher asks who broke the rule. / Never throw your teammates under the bus during a group project.
Other Ways to Say: Betray a friend / Shift the blame
6. Snake in the grass
Meaning: A hidden, sneaky, and untrustworthy person who pretends to be your friend.
For Example: Sam found out that the boy he shared secrets with was a total snake in the grass. / Watch out for any snake in the grass who tries to ruin your reputation.
Other Ways to Say: Sneaky traitor / Hidden trickster
7. Judas kiss
Meaning: An act of friendship that actually hides a wicked betrayal.
For Example: His sweet greeting felt like a Judas kiss right before he blamed me for the lost book. / We knew her friendly smile was just a Judas kiss.
Other Ways to Say: False greeting / Betrayal gesture
8. Sell someone down the river
Meaning: Disloyally betraying someone who trusted you for personal gain.
For Example: He was willing to sell his best friend down the river just to win the prize. / Do not let a coworker sell you down the river at your job.
Other Ways to Say: Betray for profit / Abandon disloyally
9. Fair-weather friend
Meaning: Someone who is only your friend when things are good and leaves during hard times.
For Example: When Liam lost his game, his fair-weather friend stopped talking to him completely. / You learn who really cares when you realize someone is just a fair-weather friend.
Other Ways to Say: Untrustworthy companion / Unreliable pal
10. Bite behind your back
Meaning: Gossiping and spreading harmful lies about someone when they are absent.
For Example: It hurts to find out that people you thought were nice will bite behind your back. / A loyal friend will never bite behind your back.
Other Ways to Say: Gossip maliciously / Talk behind someone’s back
11. Play both sides
Meaning: Acting friendly with opposing groups to trick or use both of them.
For Example: The sneaky student tried to play both sides during the playground argument. / You cannot play both sides if you want people to trust you.
Other Ways to Say: Be deceitful / Stay neutral to trick people
12. Turn coat
Meaning: Someone who switches sides and betrays their group for personal benefit.
For Example: Changing teams just to win made him look like a total turncoat. / The club members did not trust the turncoat who left them behind.
Other Ways to Say: Traitor / Deserting member
13. Cross someone
Meaning: Acting against someone’s wishes or betraying their trust.
For Example: Do not cross him if you do not want to deal with sneaky arguments. / She learned never to cross her business partners again.
Other Ways to Say: Betray someone / Go against someone
14. Pull the rug out
Meaning: Suddenly taking away your support or betraying your plans.
For Example: Promising to help and then backing out pulls the rug out from your friends. / The sudden betrayal pulled the rug out from our team.
Other Ways to Say: Remove support / Betray plans
15. Feed you to the wolves
Meaning: Leaving someone unprotected and vulnerable to face danger or trouble alone.
For Example: Instead of taking responsibility, he tried to feed his partners to the wolves. / A bad leader will feed you to the wolves to save himself.
Other Ways to Say: Abandon to danger / Sacrifice a friend
16. Rat out
Meaning: Revealing someone’s secrets or bad actions to get them into trouble.
For Example: The backstabber decided to rat out his classmates to the principal. / Never rat out a friend who trusted you with a secret.
Other Ways to Say: Tell on someone / Inform against
17. Bite someone’s head off
Meaning: Reacting with sudden, fierce anger toward someone who trusted you.
For Example: When Leo asked a simple question, she bit his head off for no reason. / Do not bite my head off just because you are having a bad day.
Other Ways to Say: Snap at someone / React angrily
18. Break a promise
Meaning: Failing to keep your word to someone who relied on you.
For Example: Breaking a promise to your best friend can ruin a good relationship. / He felt terrible after breaking a promise about the game tickets.
Other Ways toSay: Go back on your word / Fail to deliver
19. Backpedal
Meaning: Changing your story or denying something you said after being caught in a lie.
For Example: When confronted about the gossip, he started to backpedal quickly. / Do not try to backpedal now that everyone knows the truth.
Other Ways to Say: Retract a statement / Change your tune
20. Double agent
Meaning: Someone who pretends to help one side while secretly working for the enemy.
For Example: The mystery story featured a clever double agent hiding in the club. / We wondered if she was a double agent sharing our secrets.
Other Ways to Say: Secret spy / Deceptive helper
21. Pull a fast one
Meaning: Tricking someone through clever dishonesty or cheating.
For Example: He tried to pull a fast one by trading a fake trading card. / Do not let him pull a fast one on you during the game.
Other Ways to Say: Trick someone / Deceive smoothly
22. Lead someone on
Meaning: Encouraging someone to trust you while secretly planning to betray them.
For Example: It is cruel to lead someone on into thinking you are their best friend. / She felt tricked when she realized he was just leading her on.
Other Ways to Say: Deceive with false hope / String along
23. Stab in the dark
Meaning: Making a wild guess or an unreliable move without knowing the facts.
For Example: Accusing me of stealing without proof is just a stab in the dark. / His guess about who ruined the project was a total stab in the dark.
Other Ways to Say: Wild guess / Blind attempt
24. Play possum
Meaning: Pretending to be harmless or asleep while hiding your true intentions.
For Example: The sneaky student played possum while the teacher looked for the culprit. / Do not let him play possum; he knows exactly what happened.
Other Ways to Say: Pretend ignorance / Act innocent
25. Ride on someone’s coattails
Meaning: Using someone else’s hard work to gain success while offering nothing back.
For Example: He contributed nothing to the project and just rode on our coattails. / A backstabber often tries to ride on your coattails to get praise.
Other Ways to Say: Use others for success / Free ride
26. Sell out
Meaning: Betraying your values, friends, or team for money or personal gain.
For Example: Agreeing to share our secret club rules with rivals felt like a total sell out. / He decided to sell out his bandmates for a solo spot.
Other Ways to Say: Betray principles / Compromise loyalty
27. Turn your back on
Meaning: Abandoning someone who needs your help or loyalty.
For Example: A true companion will never turn their back on you in hard times. / It hurts when family members turn their back on you.
Other Ways to Say: Abandon someone / Reject support
28. Pull strings behind the back
Meaning: Controlling or manipulating a situation secretly without people knowing.
For Example: We found out she was pulling strings behind our backs to win the vote. / Stop pulling strings behind our backs and be honest.
Other Ways to Say: Manipulate secretly / Pull wires
29. Bite the dust
Meaning: Failing completely after a dishonest plan goes wrong.
For Example: His sneaky scheme to cheat on the test finally bit the dust. / When the truth came out, his clever lies bit the dust.
Other Ways to Say: Fail miserably / Collapse entirely
30. Behind closed doors
Meaning: Doing something secret, sneaky, or dishonest out of sight.
For Example: All the unfair decisions were made behind closed doors by the bullies. / They whispered their mean gossip behind closed doors.
Other Ways to Say: Secretly / In private
31. Playing dirty
Meaning: Using unfair, dishonest, or backstabbing tricks to win a game or race.
For Example: We lost the soccer match because the other team was playing dirty. / Winning by cheating means you are playing dirty.
Other Ways to Say: Cheat / Use unfair tactics
32. False friend
Meaning: Someone who pretends to care about you but plans to hurt you.
For Example: Discovering she was a false friend made Maya very cautious. / Trust is hard to rebuild after a false friend betrays you.
Other Ways to Say: Insincere pal / Fake companion
33. Underhanded trick
Meaning: A dishonest, sneaky, and unfair action done to trick someone.
For Example: Hiding our project materials was an underhanded trick by a rival. / Nobody likes an underhanded trick during a friendly competition.
Other Ways to Say: Sneaky move / Dishonest action
34. Sell someone down the creek
Meaning: Leaving a trusted friend in a difficult position through betrayal.
For Example: He sold his partners down the creek to avoid getting in trouble. / You cannot trust someone who might sell you down the creek.
Other Ways to Say: Abandon in trouble / Betray trust
35. Poison the well
Meaning: Spreading bad rumors to ruin someone’s reputation before they arrive.
For Example: He tried to poison the well by telling lies about me to the new teacher. / Do not let someone poison the well with unnecessary gossip.
Other Ways to Say: Ruin a reputation / Spread bad rumors
36. Back-stabbing partner
Meaning: A business or project partner who betrays your trust for profit.
For Example: Working with a back-stabbing partner taught him a hard lesson about contracts. / She fired her back-stabbing partner immediately.
Other Ways to Say: Disloyal associate / Treacherous partner
37. Crocodile tears
Meaning: Fake, insincere sadness shown to trick people into feeling sorry for you.
For Example: When caught lying, he cried crocodile tears to avoid punishment. / Do not fall for her crocodile tears after she ruined your project.
Other Ways to Say: Fake crying / Insincere sorrow
38. Whispering campaign
Meaning: Spreading secret rumors behind someone’s back to destroy their standing.
For Example: The bullies started a whispering campaign to turn the class against him. / A whispering campaign is a cowardly way to hurt someone.
Other Ways to Say: Rumor spreading / Secret gossip ring
39. Pull a fast one on friends
Meaning: Tricking the people closest to you for a selfish advantage.
For Example: Trying to pull a fast one on friends will only destroy trust. / He thought nobody noticed when he tried to pull a fast one.
Other Ways to Say: Deceive loved ones / Cheat peers
40. Cut the ground from under
Meaning: Ruining someone’s plans or position unexpectedly through betrayal.
For Example: His sudden lie cut the ground from under our presentation plan. / Do not let anyone cut the ground from under your hard work.
Other Ways to Say: Undermine someone / Sabotage success
41. Leave out in the cold
Meaning: Abandoning or ignoring a friend after using them.
For Example: After getting the answers, he left his classmate out in the cold. / It feels awful when a trusted group leaves you out in the cold.
Other Ways to Say: Exclude someone / Abandon completely
42. Stab in the back repeatedly
Meaning: Continuing to betray someone over and over again.
For Example: She forgave him once, but he continued to stab her in the back. / Trusting someone who keeps stabbing you in the back is unwise.
Other Ways to Say: Betray constantly / Hurt repeatedly
43. Smooth talker
Meaning: Someone who uses charming words to trick and deceive people.
For Example: The smooth talker convinced us to lend him money and then disappeared. / Do not let a smooth talker trick you into bad deals.
Other Ways to Say: Charming deceiver / Silver-tongued liar
44. Play fast and loose
Meaning: Acting carelessly and breaking promises to people who trust you.
For Example: He played fast and loose with our club rules until we removed him. / You cannot play fast and loose with important friendships.
Other Ways to Say: Be unreliable / Act untrustworthily
45. Stab through the heart
Meaning: Causing intense emotional pain through a terrible betrayal.
For Example: Her cruel words felt like a stab through the heart. / Finding out my best friend lied was a real stab through the heart.
Other Ways to Say: Cause deep pain / Devastate emotionally
46. Turn tables on a friend
Meaning: Betraying someone who trusted you by turning the situation against them.
For Example: He tried to turn the tables on his loyal partner to look innocent. / It is wicked to turn tables on a friend who helped you.
Other Ways to Say: Betray trust / Reverse loyalty
47. Pull the rug
Meaning: Removing support abruptly to let someone fail.
For Example: Walking away from the group project pulled the rug on our grade. / She always pulls the rug when things get tough.
Other Ways to Say: Sabotage / Withdraw help
48. Sell your soul
Meaning: Giving up all your honesty and values for something selfish.
For Example: Cheating on the exam felt like he was ready to sell his soul. / Never sell your soul just to win a popularity contest.
Other Ways to Say: Compromise morals / Lose integrity
49. Lead down the garden path
Meaning: Tricking someone into believing a false story or trusting the wrong person.
For Example: The fake friend led us down the garden path with false promises. / Do not let smooth lies lead you down the garden path.
Other Ways to Say: Deceive / Mislead completely
50. Break faith
Meaning: Breaking a solemn promise or oath of loyalty to someone.
For Example: Breaking faith with your team members destroys all cooperation. / He chose to break faith rather than tell the honest truth.
Other Ways to Say: Break loyalty / Violate trust
51. Play a double game
Meaning: Acting dishonestly by participating in secret plots against friends.
For Example: We realized she was playing a double game with our club secrets. / Playing a double game will eventually catch up with you.
Other Ways to Say: Deceive secretly / Be dishonest
52. Bite someone in the back
Meaning: Harming someone who trusted you while pretending to be nice.
For Example: He smiled to my face and then tried to bite me in the back. / Never trust someone who wants to bite you in the back.
Other Ways to Say: Betray secretly / Harm a friend
53. Pull strings in secret
Meaning: Manipulating events behind the scenes to hurt someone’s chances.
For Example: She was pulling strings in secret to stop my promotion in the club. / Discovering his secret tricks ruined our friendship.
Other Ways to Say: Secretly manipulate / Plot behind scenes
54. Turn against allies
Meaning: Betraying the people who helped and supported you.
For Example: A selfish leader will quickly turn against allies when trouble starts. / We must stay united and never turn against allies.
Other Ways to Say: Betray friends / Abandon supporters
55. Throw to the wolves
Meaning: Sacrificing a friend to save yourself from trouble.
For Example: He had no problem throwing his project partner to the wolves. / A true friend will never throw you to the wolves.
Other Ways to Say: Sacrifice someone / Abandon to trouble
56. Play the traitor
Meaning: Acting disloyally toward your group or country.
For Example: Sharing the secret code meant he chose to play the traitor. / Nobody wants to play the traitor in our history game.
Other Ways to Say: Act disloyally / Be a turncoat
57. Break trust
Meaning: Destroying the confidence someone placed in your honesty.
For Example: Once you break trust, it takes a long time to earn it back. / Lying to your parents is a quick way to break trust.
Other Ways to Say: Lose confidence / Violate an agreement
58. Stab in the back metaphor
Meaning: Using a fake smile to hide a cruel betrayal.
For Example: His polite greeting was just a classic stab in the back. / She learned to spot a hidden betrayal before it happened.
Other Ways to Say: Hidden cruelty / Fake kindness
59. Play dirty trick
Meaning: Using a dishonest and sneaky method to win or hurt someone.
For Example: Hiding the sports equipment was a play dirty trick by our rivals. / Winning fairly is better than any play dirty trick.
Other Ways to Say: Use unfair trick / Cheat
60. Backstabber’s game
Meaning: A dishonest lifestyle of betraying friends for selfish gain.
For Example: Playing a backstabber’s game will leave you with no true friends. / He realized that living a backstabber’s game brings no real happiness.
Other Ways to Say: Treacherous life / Dishonest path
Exercise to Practice
- Leo felt deeply hurt when his teammate gave him a sudden ________ during the election.
- We thought he was a kind helper, but he turned out to be a ________ in sheep’s clothing.
- Maya realized her classmate was ________ after hearing the gossip she spread.
- Sharing your lunch with him only for him to insult you later is like ________ the hand that feeds you.
- A backstabber will quickly ________ when the teacher asks who broke the rule.
- Sam found out that the boy he shared secrets with was a total ________ in the grass.
- Promising to help and then backing out ________ from your friends.
- The backstabber decided to ________ his classmates to the principal.
- When Leo asked a simple question, she ________ his head off for no reason.
- When Liam lost his game, his ________ friend stopped talking to him completely.
- We found out she was pulling strings ________ to win the vote.
- Hiding our project materials was an ________ trick by a rival.
- Discovering she was a ________ friend made Maya very cautious.
- Once you ________, it takes a long time to earn it back.
- Playing a ________ will leave you with no true friends.
Answer Key
- stab in the back
- wolf
- two-faced
- biting
- throw you under the bus
- snake
- pulls the rug out
- rat out
- bit
- fair-weather
- behind our backs
- underhanded
- false
- break trust
- backstabber’s game
Conclusion
Learning idioms related to backstabbers helps us understand the importance of trust and honesty in our friendships. These helpful expressions let us talk about tricky social situations clearly and wisely. Try using a few of these new idioms when discussing stories or characters with your classmates today. You will make your language more colorful while learning how to spot true, reliable friends.
