ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pile Pelion on Ossa

idiom
Meaning

To make a difficult situation even worse.


Origin

disputed origin

From the Ancient Greek story of Otus and Ephialtes, who piled Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa in an attempt to storm Mount Olympus.

Examples
SIMPLE

He lost his job and then piled Pelion on Ossa by crashing his car.

CONTEXTUAL

The team was already struggling with the deadline, but the manager piled Pelion on Ossa by demanding even more changes.

COMPLEX

By ignoring the warnings and refusing to seek help, the director only piled Pelion on Ossa, turning a manageable error into a total catastrophe.

Anchors to
Related idioms1entry
  1. 01

    pile up

    To collect or accumulate, as a backlog.

© 2026 English Reference