add insult to injury

1. Hurt a person's feelings after doing him or her harm; also, make a bad situation worse. For example, Not only did the club refuse him, but it published a list of the rejected applicants—that's adding insult to injury, or The nearest parking space was half a mile away, and then, to add insult to injury, it began to pour: The phrase is an ancient one, even older than its often cited use in the Roman writer Phaedrus's fable of the bald man and the fly. A fly bit the head of a bald man, who, trying to crush it, gave himself a heavy blow. The fly then jeered, “You want to avenge an insect's sting with death; what will you do to yourself, who have added insult to injury?” In English it was first recorded in 1748.

Example Sentences

Brandon Marsh added insult to injury with a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat.

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To add insult to injury for the vulnerable visitors, Guehi even had an assist in the build-up to Nketiah's winner when a long throw-in caused defensive jitters - just like a corner did for Palace's first.

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She said: "It's hard enough for people in the creative industry to sustain careers, but to be competing with a robotic version of yourself adds insult to injury."

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"At a time of widespread political disillusionment, her actions were staggeringly irresponsible and only added insult to injury after years of delay for renters' rights reform under the Conservatives."

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To add insult to injury, the cost of the special election to ratify the scheme is estimated to be about $60 million in Los Angeles County alone, with statewide costs likely exceeding $200 million.

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