hara-kiri

hara-kirinoun/ˌhæɹəˈkɪɹi/

• 1

  Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment, as by slicing open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practised in Japan by the samurai when disgraced or sentenced to death.

  • On the downfall of his power in 1867 he was urged by one of his Council to save the honour of his family by a voluntary suicide. He flatly refused to do so and left the room, whereupon his faithful adviser retired to another part of the castle and solemnly performed the hara-kiri.
• 2

  Suicide or any suicidal action.

  • ...the report that was issued at the time officially blamed a disgruntled crewman who had been accused of theft and may have decided to do the ultimate hara-kiri, but quite how you prove that I don't know...
• 3

  An act against one's own interests.

  • Regarded logically, therefore, Japan’s decision to go to war made no sense. It was hara-kiri.
  • They are haunted by the spectre of the 1984 election, when Mr Walter Mondale committed hara-kiri by acknowledging the need to raise taxes if America were to get its economy straight.