"You not only couldn't fix it but even damaged it more!"

Question

Suppose you want to fix your brother's bicycle, but this time it seems that you cannot do it and at the end of your work, you find that you have caused an extra damage to that bicycle, too! :)

We have an proverb which says:" You wanted to shape/fix someone's eyebrow but you blinded their eye!"

Is there any idiom or proverb that can convey the same connotation?

possible duplicate of The solution to the problem is more complicated than the problem Or Is there an aphorism for doing a self-defeating act?, or Expression that means something like “killing the sheep to keep them from being kidnapped” I'd settle for the cure is worse than the disease. — FumbleFingers, Aug 21 '15 at 15:52
Another common usage in this general area is If it ain't broke, don't fix it! - sometimes simply meaning Don't do it because it's unnecessary, but which often implies Your well-meaning intervention might (or has already) only made things worse. — FumbleFingers, Aug 21 '15 at 16:13
Substitute even for also and everything's fine. These little words ... — John Lawler, Aug 21 '15 at 16:16
Out of the frying pan, into the fryer. (Oops --- that didn't improve things much, did it?) — Hot Licks, Aug 21 '15 at 16:31
I prefer the answers in http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/43585/expression-that-means-something-like-killing-the-sheep-to-keep-them-from-being. They are more complete. — Mari-Lou A, Aug 21 '15 at 16:53
Thanks @Mari-LouA, I saw them, they are good,too. But I think " the cure is worse than the disease " is more suitable to my question. :) — Soudabeh, Aug 21 '15 at 17:03
I don't understand, the answer "the cure is worse than the disease" is the top answer in the question (first suggested by FF) I posted. If you want to keep your question open, you're going to have to say why none of the proposed answers fit. An impossible task in my opinion. I wouldn't say this if I didn't believe it. — Mari-Lou A, Aug 21 '15 at 17:09
@Mari-Luo A, I chose it regarding the definition I found in dictionaries: like this: (figuratively) The solution or proposed solution to a problem produces a worse net result than the problem does (or threatens a non-negligible risk of doing so), especially via unintended consequences. To you as a native speaker, is this definition right? :) I just can rely on dictionaries, since I'm not a native speaker. :) — Soudabeh, Aug 21 '15 at 17:19
I also like the cure is worse than the disease, but this is also a case of the blind leading the blind. — jxh, Aug 21 '15 at 17:39
@jxh - Are you talking about EL&U in general, or some specific situation? — Hot Licks, Aug 21 '15 at 18:20
@HotLicks: Assuming the friend does not know how to fix the bicycle, and you offer to fix it, but also do not know how to fix it. — jxh, Aug 21 '15 at 18:57
It's not really an answer to your question, but I like this quotation from Andreas Gruber (Austrian author): The worst mistakes are made when trying to fix a first one — Graffito, Aug 21 '15 at 19:56

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 21 '15 at 18:45

2

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire".

The only difference between this and your example is that there is a subtle sense in this idiom that the start and the end are two related-but-different situations, not one situation made worse. For example, it could be used when a prisoner escapes from jail, only to discover that his escape tunnel leads directly to the firing squad's grounds....

answered Aug 21 '15 at 18:45

Paul Drye

782

+1 ,Interesting! We have a proverb with the same connotation:" out of the pit and into the well" :) , thanks a lot, @Paul Drye – Soudabeh Aug 21 '15 at 18:56
+1, but I disagree with your caveat; if you're "in the frying pan", you are already directly above the fire, shielded from it only by a thin piece of metal. "fixing" your problem by removing the frying pan and landing directly in the fire is one situation made worse, not two related-but-different situations. – Hellion Aug 21 '15 at 19:12

"You not only couldn't fix it but even damaged it more!"

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