Learn English – Ruining something for someone else (spoils of war?)

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Lately I've been thinking of a saying that describes the following:

Ruining something for someone else, for the sole purpose of it not being useful any more to the other party, even though you do not need it yourself in any way.

I thought that "spoils of war" / "warspoils" was a saying / "proverb" that was used for the above description, but apparently it's not really what I thought it was.

So my question is twofold:

  1. What exactly does "spoils of war" mean?
  2. Is there a certain saying/proverb that "matches" my description?

Best Answer

A dictionary helps with question 1, e.g. ODO:

spoil

noun

  1. (usually spoils) goods stolen or taken forcibly from a person or place:
         the looters carried their spoils away

The spoils of war is the booty captured and carried off by the victor.

Ruining something in the way you describe, to hurt someone else, is an act of spite.

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