Reicht dieser Archiv-Faden?

Siehe auch: jemandem einen Strick daraus drehen

FloFlo, vermute ich richtig, dass Du nach der Bedeutung fragst?
Es bedeutet, das man aus einer -vielleicht unüberlegten- Bemerkung oder Handlung für jemanden einen Nachteil erzeugt/konstruiert. Die Redensart bezieht sich auf den Strick (rope) des Henkers, den jemand im übertragenen Sinne selbst ungewollt liefert.
Jemand sagt in einem Verkehrsstrafverfahren: "Ich hatte es eilig". Daraus kann ihm die Staatsanwaltschaft einen Strick drehen.

ist das nicht "jemandeM einen Strick aus etwas drehen"?

to let someone hang themself

Isn't FloFloUSA a German law student or lawyer in the US? Pardon me if I'm remembering that wrong. FloFlo, if you would register and include something about your language background, people wouldn't wonder if you needed a translation or an explanation.

And if you would give a little more context, it would be easier to give a translation. We do have an expression 'to give someone enough rope (to hang himself/herself),' but you can only use it when the person really did do something wrong, so that the more he or she talks, or the longer he or she keeps doing something suspicious (for example, while under observation by the police), the more clear it becomes that he or she is in fact guilty. It's like just waiting for the person to demonstrate guilt.

But the example in the previous thread, and judex's short explanation, does sound more like it could be trying to use something against someone, to spin the facts in a direction unfavorable to someone, to put the worst construction on something, to twist the evidence against someone, to build a trap for someone out of a possibly innocent statement or action.

Unterstütze Todd: es MUSS gramatikalisch korrekt lauten "*jemandeM* einen Strick..."

support daddy: to use sth. against somebody (see link)