IdiomNatureGalician

Chover sobre mollado

Meaning: Trouble piling on top of trouble.

Literally: To rain on what's already wet

Example: “Perdín o traballo e agora avaría o coche: chove sobre mollado.” — I lost my job and now the car's broken down: when it rains, it pours.

English equivalent: When it rains, it pours

Origin: Rain falling on ground that is already soaked makes things worse, not better. The Galician phrase, like Spanish llover sobre mojado, means one misfortune piled on another. No particular story lies behind it.

More idioms — Nature

  • Il pleut comme vache qui pisse It's pouring down — a crude, vivid way to say the rain is coming down extremely hard.
  • set in stone Unchangeable and permanent, fixed beyond modification.
  • drop in the bucket A contribution or action so small it is negligible compared to a massive problem.
  • bed of roses A situation or life that is entirely easy, comfortable, and free from hardship.
  • made in the shade Assured of comfort, success, or an effortless, favorable position.
  • turn up the heat To make a situation more intense, uncomfortable, or urgent.

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