IdiomDaily Life
English
EnglishTo add insult to injury
Meaning: To make a bad situation worse by a further offense.
Example: “Our flight was canceled, and to add insult to injury, they lost our luggage.”
Origin: From a Latin fable by Phaedrus in which a bald man, swatting a biting fly, slaps himself and is mocked for it.
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: éramos pocos y parió la abuela Literally: We were few and grandmother gave birth
More English idioms
- To butter someone up To flatter someone to win their favor.
- Russian roulette Any high-risk activity undertaken needlessly, where disaster may strike without warning.
- pull back the curtain To expose a hidden truth or reality behind an appearance.
- present company excepted These remarks do not apply to anyone currently present in this conversation.
- on sufferance Tolerated reluctantly and only because one has no better choice.
- set in stone Unchangeable and permanent, fixed beyond modification.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- C'est une vraie chèvre They're hopelessly stubborn and infuriating — a goat that refuses to be moved.
- Casse-pieds A massive bore or pain in the neck — someone who wears you down with their irritating way…
- Espèce de patate You dim bulb — a potato being the very picture of inert, unthinking stodginess.
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