Dictionary

add insult to injury en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Derived from the fables of Phaedrus in the first century CE. The story was of a bald man who swats at a fly which has just landed on his head, but instead hits himself on the head. The fly comments, "You wished to kill me for a touch. What will you do to yourself since you have added insult to injury?" (quid facies tibi, Iniuriae qui addideris contumeliam?) The actual wording appears in English from the middle of the 18th century.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an already unfavorable situation.
   • As if the hostile takeover weren't enough, to add insult to injury they scrapped ninety percent of our products and replaced them with their own.
   • [...] the line crossed over an iron bridge spanning Ludgate Hill itself [...] neatly obliterating any view of St Paul's from Ludgate Circus and Fleet Street. A thousand people had put their names to a petition against the bridge. To add insult to injury it carried a small thicket of railway signals as well as regular steam trains. 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 52:

Forms

Deriveds

add salt to injury

Relateds

insult to injury · grave dancing

Synonyms

make matters worse · heap insult on injury

Translations (42)

is bæta gráu ofan á svart (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · fr pour couronner le tout (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · da føje spot til skade (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · is gera vont verra (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ru сы́пать соль на ра́ну (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ko 설상가상 (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · vi đổ thêm dầu vào lửa (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · it oltre il danno la beffa (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · cmn 落井下石 (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · it cornuto e mazziato (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · de dem Ganzen die Krone aufsetzen (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · es echar leña al fuego (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ja 傷口に塩を塗る (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · de noch einen draufsetzen (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · he הרצחת וגם ירשת (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · de Salz in die Wunde streuen (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · fr comme si ça ne suffisait pas (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · cmn 雪上加霜 (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · pl na domiar złego (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · bn কাটা ঘায়ে নুনের ছিটে (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ka ცეცხლზე ნავთის დასხმა (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · gd bris mo chlaigeann air thùs, is an sin ciùrr mo chorrag (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ga cuir an tarcaisne i gceann na héagóra (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · pt esfregar sal na ferida (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ro a răsuci cuțitul în rană (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · es para colmo de males (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · el όλα του γάμου δύσκολα κι η νύφη γκαστρωμένη (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · fi pahentaa asiaa entisestään (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · gl sobre mel filloas (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · es para añadir insulto a la injuria (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · gl aínda por riba (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · de das Ganze noch schlimmer machen (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · fr ajouter l'injure à l'insulte (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · vi xát muối vào vết thương (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · is bæta móðgun við meingjörð (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · sv strö salt i såren (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · he הוסיף חטא על פשע (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · es para añidir afrenta a la lesión (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · scn nuttata persa e figghia fìmmina (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · is blammera (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ko 엎친 데 덮친 격 (to further a loss with mockery or indignity) · ar زَادَ الطِّينَ بِلَّةً (to further a loss with mockery or indignity)

wikipedia: Phaedrus (fabulist)