add insult to injury

add insult to injury

Meaning

• to make a bad situation worse
• to further hurt the feelings of someone who has already been hurt
• to worsen an unfavorable or uncomfortable situation
• to add to a loss with mockery or indignity

Example Sentences

1. The company rejected his application for a job, and to add insult to injury, refused to pay his expenses.
2. I was already getting late for work stuck in the traffic, and to add insult to injury, I was stopped by the police for speeding.
3. First, the bathroom flooded, and then, to add insult to injury, a tap started leaking.
4. First, they lost the match, and then, to add insult to injury, one of players was suspended for cheating.
5. Not only did the club stop the team from playing, they also took away their equipment – that's adding insult to injury.
6. They were already stranded in the middle of nowhere without any conveyance, then, to add insult to injury, it started to rain.
7. His brothers not only sold off all his property, but, to add insult to injury, they refused to pay him anything from the proceeds.

Origin

The phrase is an ancient one, but was recorded in English in the mid 1700s. The most often cited use is in the Roman writer Phaedrus' fable of a bald man and a fly.