ENGLISH
REFERENCE

salt the earth

idiom
Meaning

After destroying or devastating something, to do something additional to make sure it is permanently destroyed, as a precaution or out of spite.


Examples
SIMPLE

The angry manager wanted to salt the earth after the project failed.

CONTEXTUAL

The company decided to salt the earth by deleting all the old files so the new team could not use them.

COMPLEX

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.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    Attic salt

    Pointed and delicate wit.

  2. 02

    come down to earth

    To be brought back to reality; to emerge from a daydream.

  3. 03

    cost the earth

    To be a huge expense.

  4. 04

    covenant of salt

    A long-lasting agreement.

  5. 05

    edge of the earth

    A very remote place.

  6. 06

    go to the ends of the earth

    To do everything possible to achieve something.

  7. 07

    God's green earth

    The world.

  8. 08

    green in earth

    Of a deceased person, recently buried.

Last updated April 17, 2026