When a crafty schemer is undone by his own schemes; one's clever plans backfire on oneself.
あまり細かく計画しすぎて、結局策士策に溺れる結果になった。
He planned things in such detail that in the end his own schemes backfired on him.
政治家は策士策に溺れることなく、誠実に有権者と向き合うべきだ。
A politician should face voters honestly rather than let his schemes backfire.
彼は相手の裏をかこうとして失敗し、まさに策士策に溺れるという状態だった。
He tried to outwit the other person and failed — truly a case of a schemer undone by his own scheme.