insult

add insult to injury

Fig. Cliché to make a bad situation worse; to hurt the feelings of a person who has already been hurt. First, the basement flooded, and then, to add insult to injury, a pipe burst in the kitchen. My car barely started this morning, and to add insult to injury, I got a flat tire in the driveway.

See also: add

hurl insults (at someone) and throw insults (at someone)

Fig. to direct insults at someone; to say something insulting directly to someone. Anne hurled an insult at Bob that made him very angry. If you two would stop throwing insults, we could have a serious discussion.

See also: hurl

trade insults (with someone)

to take turns with someone in mutual insulting. We traded insults with each other for a while and then settled down to some serious discussions of our differences.

See also: trade

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add insult to injury

to make a bad situation even worse for someone by doing something else to upset them First of all he arrived an hour late and then, to add insult to injury, he proceeded to complain about my choice of restaurant.

See also: add

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add insult to injury

to make a bad situation worse The airline charged me extra for checking in a bike and then added insult to injury by charging me for a box to pack it in.

See also: add