put the knife in
put the knife in
To do or say something especially critical, unpleasant, or mean-spirited, especially to someone who is already vulnerable or weak. John seems genuinely remorseful for what happened. There doesn't seem to be any reason to put the knife in at this point. And then he really put the knife in by telling me that he'd only pretended to like my writing.
See also: knife, put
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
put the knife in
orstick the knife in
mainly BRITISHIf someone puts the knife in or sticks the knife in, they deliberately do or say things which will upset another person or cause problems for them. Every time he applied for a job, someone put the knife in and made sure Jack's background became known. BBC colleagues — often eager to stick the knife in — defended her yesterday.
See also: knife, put
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
put/stick the ˈknife in
,put/stick the ˈknife into somebody
(informal) criticize somebody or deliberately try to harm them: The senator has quite a few enemies that would love to stick the knife in if they got the chance.See also: knife, put, stick
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
- get (one's)/the knife into (someone)
- get the knife into someone
- get your knife into somebody
- knives
- put/stick the knife in
- stick the knife in
- the jaws of (something)
- the jaws of death, defeat, etc.
- taco stand
- rumble on