Idiom
kick a dog when it's down
Meaning
To make things worse for someone in an adverse situation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“It is cruel to kick a dog when it is down.”
“He already lost his job, so criticizing his performance now is just kicking a dog when it is down.”
“Even though their rival had suffered a humiliating defeat, the team continued to mock them, effectively kicking a dog when it was down.”
Examples
simple
“It is cruel to kick a dog when it is down.”
contextual
“He already lost his job, so criticizing his performance now is just kicking a dog when it is down.”
complex
“Even though their rival had suffered a humiliating defeat, the team continued to mock them, effectively kicking a dog when it was down.”
Key words
Related idioms
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