salt the earth
After destroying or devastating something, to do something additional to make sure it is permanently destroyed, as a precaution or out of spite.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The angry manager wanted to salt the earth after the project failed.”
“The company decided to salt the earth by deleting all the old files so the new team could not use them.”
“In a final act of spite, the departing executive salted the earth, ensuring that no successor could salvage the remnants of the once-prosperous department.”
- 01
Attic salt
Pointed and delicate wit.
- 02
come down to earth
To be brought back to reality; to emerge from a daydream.
- 03
cost the earth
To be a huge expense.
- 04
covenant of salt
A long-lasting agreement.
- 05
edge of the earth
A very remote place.
- 06
go to the ends of the earth
To do everything possible to achieve something.
- 07
God's green earth
The world.
- 08
green in earth
Of a deceased person, recently buried.
Last updated August 10, 2026