rub salt in/into the wound

phrase

informal
: to make a difficult situation even worse for someone
It's bad enough that he was right and I was wrong, but the way he keeps talking about it is just rubbing salt in the wound.

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Cite this Entry

“Rub salt in/into the wound.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rub%20salt%20in%2Finto%20the%20wound. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

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