IdiomBody & Senses
German
GermanSalz in die Wunde streuen
Meaning: To deliberately make someone's pain or humiliation worse.
Literally: To strew salt in the wound
Example: “Er erwähnte den Endstand und streute damit Salz in die Wunde.” — He mentioned the final score and rubbed salt in the wound.
English equivalent: To rub salt in the wound
Equivalents in other languages
Russian: сыпать соль на рану (sypat' sol' na ranu) Literally: To pour salt on a wound
English: rub salt in the wound
Origin: Salt stings badly on raw flesh. Sprinkling salt into someone's wound is making a pain or humiliation that already exists even worse. English says "rub salt into the wound" for the same thing; neither phrase has a documented first use.
More German idioms
- die Suppe versalzen To ruin a plan or situation through careless excess.
- sich die Hörner abstoßen To shed youthful recklessness and settle into maturity.
- auf dem Damm In good health and spirits, recovered from illness or hardship.
- aus dem Off From off-screen or offstage; said of a voice heard without the speaker being seen, or of…
- etwas auf die lange Bank schieben to postpone or delay something indefinitely.
- in die Quere kommen to interfere with someone, to get in the way or obstruct.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Backpfeifengesicht A face that is just begging to be slapped — someone so smug you can't help the urge.
- Schadenfreude The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.
- Fernweh An aching longing for far-off places you've never been — the opposite of homesickness.
Keep exploring