add insult to injury

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

To add insult to injury, Iran’s production has increased thanks to its quota exemption.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

To add insult to injury: The company announced the layoffs were due to “low performance.”

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

Higher ticket prices only add insult to injury.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

"The delays in bringing perpetrators to court really does add insult to injury," said Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association.

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025

To add insult to injury, she then turned out to be better at counterspy operations than the FBI was.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield