# pile Pelion on Ossa

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/pile-pelion-on-ossa
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To make a difficult situation even worse.

## Examples

- He lost his job and then piled Pelion on Ossa by crashing his car.
- He forgets his keys and piles Pelion on Ossa by locking the back door.
- The team was already struggling with the deadline, but the manager piled Pelion on Ossa by demanding even more changes.
- The airline canceled our flight and then piled Pelion on Ossa by losing all three of our suitcases.
- After the storm damaged the roof, the heavy rain piled Pelion on Ossa by flooding the entire kitchen.
- By ignoring the warnings and refusing to seek help, the director only piled Pelion on Ossa, turning a manageable error into a total catastrophe.

## Origin

Derived from the Ancient Greek account of the giants Otus and Ephialtes. According to the narrative, the brothers attempted to scale Mount Olympus by stacking Mount Pelion upon Mount Ossa, a topographical arrangement intended to facilitate the storming of the gods. The phrase preserves the names of the two peaks and the giants whose architectural ambitions exceeded their eventual success.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.