Add Insult to Injury

Context #1

I had a boyfriend for nearly 2 months. He recently broke up with me. He claimed the relationship was not working because I was not his “type.” My hair is blonde, I have blue eyes, and I’m fairly athletic. When we first met, he said I was exactly his type! Recently, my friend told me she saw my ex-boyfriend at Del Amo Mall with his new girlfriend. His new girlfriend was a blonde, blue-eyed volleyball player! My friend also said she looks very similar to me! First I was upset about our break-up. It adds insult to injury that he lied about his reasons. I now know I’m better off without him.

Context #2

Tina: Hi, Billy. How was your first day of school?
Billy: It started out fine, but quickly turned horrible.
Tina: What happened?!
Billy: Well, it started when I tried to go to my first class. The teacher couldn’t find me on his class list. It was a little embarrassing because everyone was looking at me. That’s when I realized I was in the wrong room. One of the front desk staff gave me the wrong information.
Tina: That’s not so bad.
Billy: That’s only the beginning. After my classroom situation was worked out, I was running late to get to my real class and I wasn’t paying attention. There was a muddy puddle and I didn’t see it. I fell right on my butt and to add insult to injury, I dropped one of my brand new textbooks in the puddle. I have to let it dry out. I can’t afford to buy another one.
Tina: Oh no! That does sound terrible! Are you OK?
Billy: I’ve managed to recover! Hope tomorrow is better!

Explanation

The expression add insult to injury is used when talking about a situation that is already bad AND it gets worse. Use this expression AFTER the initial bad situation and BEFORE the thing that makes it worse.

In Example 1, the speaker is talking about her breakup- a bad situation. This bad situation becomes worse when she finds out her ex-boyfriend lied to her about the reasons. Her boyfriend broke up with her and to add insult to injury, he lied about the reasons.

In Example 2, Billy had a terrible day that continued to get worse. First, he went to the wrong room. Then he slipped in a muddy puddle. To add insult to injury, his book was also damaged by the water.

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