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Add Insult to Injury

What Does "Add Insult to Injury" Mean?

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"Add insult to injury" is an English idiom. It means "to make a bad situation even worse."

Examples in Sentences

Here are three examples of the idiom "add insult to injury" used in a sentence:
  • After losing my job, the company car was taken away, adding insult to injury.
  • It was bad enough that he arrived late, but adding insult to injury, he forgot the documents.
  • They raised the rent and, to add insult to injury, reduced the services they provided.
meaning for add insult to injury

What Is an Idiom?

An idiom is a commonly used expression whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. In other words, if you were to translate "Add Insult to Injury" word for word, there is no guarantee the translation would help you to understand the meaning.

An idiom often includes a cultural or historical context that makes it difficult for non-native English speakers to understand. A phrase is classified as an idiom when a direct translation of the words does not reveal the meaning. Most idioms rely on shared knowledge or experiences known only to a specific community.

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