# rub salt in someone's wounds

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/rub-salt-in-someones-wounds
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To make a painful situation even worse (even with the best of intentions).

## Examples

- Don't rub salt in his wounds by mentioning the game he lost.
- Please do not rub salt in my wounds while I am still upset.
- He rubs salt in her wounds by constantly talking about his new promotion.
- She already felt bad about failing the test, so his comments only rubbed salt in her wounds.
- Losing the championship was hard enough, but seeing the other team celebrate at our favorite restaurant really rubbed salt in our wounds.
- The store refused to give her a refund and then rubbed salt in her wounds by charging a high fee for the return.
- After my car broke down in the rain, getting a parking ticket just rubbed salt in my wounds.
- By highlighting the exact moment the company began its decline, the critic effectively rubbed salt in the wounds of the struggling management team.

## Origin

Derived from the historical medical practice of applying salt to an open wound to inhibit infection. While effective as an antiseptic, the treatment was notably painful, a quality that remains the primary feature of the modern idiom.

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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.