From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdo something once too oftendo something once too oftenHARM/BE BAD FORto repeat a bad, stupid, or dangerous action with the result that you get punished or cause trouble for yourself He tried that trick once too often and in the end they caught him. → once
Examples from the Corpus
do something once too often• The kids rang Brant's doorbell once too often, and he reported them to the police.• But not Luke Denner - he's humiliated me once too often!• He'd said it once too often, and this time she'd taken him at his word.• He got into trouble once too often and wound up in continuation school.• I can only assume she tried once too often to enter the nest, as the female died during the night.• It had failed him in a crisis and that was once too often.• Maybe she just turned him down once too often.• One of these people had looked in my direction once too often, passed by once again just a little too slowly.• Until, that is, it lived up to its original name once too often! 