Add insult to injury
Meaning: To make a bad situation even worse, often by being disrespectful on top of causing harm.
Used when something bad happens and then something additionally offensive or hurtful follows. The second thing is usually less severe than the first, but it feels worse because it's piling on. Common in storytelling, complaints, and expressions of outrage.
Examples
- They fired me, and to add insult to injury, they made me train my replacement. 他们把我开除了,更过分的是,还让我培训接替我的人。Me despidieron y, para colmo, me hicieron formar a mi sustituto.クビにされた上に、後任の教育までさせられた——まさに踏んだり蹴ったりだ。해고당한 데다 후임 교육까지 시켰다—설상가상이란 바로 이런 거다.
- The restaurant overcharged us, and to add insult to injury, the food was terrible. 餐厅多收了我们钱,雪上加霜的是,菜还难吃得要命。El restaurante nos cobró de más y, para más inri, la comida estaba horrible.レストランで余計にお金を取られた上に、料理もひどかった——泣きっ面に蜂だよ。식당에서 바가지를 씌운 데다 음식마저 형편없었다—엎친 데 덮친 격이었다.
- He broke up with her over text — talk about adding insult to injury. 他用短信分手——简直是伤口上撒盐。La dejó por mensaje de texto: eso sí que es echar sal en la herida.メールで振るなんて——まさに傷口に塩を塗るようなものだ。문자로 이별 통보를 하다니—상처에 소금 뿌리는 격이지.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: complaints, storytelling, outrage
Tone: indignant, aggrieved
✓ Do Say
- To add insult to injury...To add insult to injury...Para colmo de males...To add insult to injury...(さらに追い打ちをかけるように…)설상가상으로...
- They added insult to injury by...They added insult to injury by...Para colmo, encima fueron y...They added insult to injury by...(彼らはさらに~して追い打ちをかけた。)그들은 거기에 더해서 모욕까지 줬어.
✗ Don't Say
- Don't use for trivial follow-ups — it implies the second thing is genuinely offensive or unfair不要用于无关紧要的后续事件——它暗示第二件事确实具有冒犯性或不公正No lo uses para consecuencias triviales: implica que lo segundo es genuinamente ofensivo o injusto些細な後続の出来事には使わないこと——二番目のことが本当に侮辱的または不当であることを含意する사소한 후속 상황에는 사용하지 말 것—두 번째 일이 진짜로 모욕적이거나 부당한 경우에 써야 한다
Origin & History
Dates back to the Roman fabulist Phaedrus in the 1st century AD, who told a fable about a bald man swatting at a fly on his head and hurting himself. The fly added insult to injury by mocking him. The phrase became standard in American English by the 1700s.
Cultural Context
Era: 1st century-present
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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