rub salt in the wound

English

Alternative forms

• rub salt in someone's wounds, rub salt into the wounds

Etymology

Derived from the stingingly painful sensation of table salt deliberately being rubbed into an open, bleeding wound, as for torture, interrogation, etc.

Verb

rub salt in the wound

1. (idiomatic) To make an injury feel worse.

Usage notes

• For rub, one can substitute verbs such as add, pour, put, possibly requiring a change in the preposition in.
• See salt in the wound for variations in that portion of the expression.

Synonyms

• add insult to injury
• kick someone when they are down
• twist the knife

Translations

to make an injury feel worse

• Bengali: kata ghaye nuner chite
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雪上加霜 (cmn) (xuě shàng jiā shuāng)

• Finnish: vääntää veistä haavassa (fi)
• French: remuer le couteau dans la plaie (fr)
• German: Finger auf die Wunde legen (de)

• Japanese: 傷口に塩を塗る (ja) (kizuguchi-ni shio-o nuru)
• Norwegian: strø salt i såret (no)
• Romanian: a pune sare pe rană (ro)
• Russian: сыпать соль на рану (ru) (sýpat' sol' na ránu)
• Swedish: strö salt i såren (sv)