add insult to injury
意味一覧 (2件)
追い打ちをかける
解説 Definition
すでに困っている人や悪い状況に、さらに不快な出来事や言動を重ねるときに使います。特に、失敗・損失・不運のあとに余計な一言や追加の問題が起き、精神的な痛みが増す場面でよく使われます。
This idiom means to make a bad situation even worse by adding something extra that hurts or upsets someone. It is often used when a person already has a problem, loss, or failure, and then another unpleasant event or remark happens. The second thing often increases the emotional pain, not just the practical trouble.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
add は「加える」、insult は「侮辱」、injury は「傷・損害」です。すでに injury があるところへ insult まで add する、と考えると、悪い状況にさらに嫌なことを重ねる感覚がつかめます。make worse よりも、余計な一言・不公平な扱い・追加の不運で気持ちまで傷つく場面に合います。「泣きっ面に蜂」という状況描写より、ここでは行為としての「追い打ちをかける」に注目します。
Think of the words separately: add means "put on more," insult means "an offensive remark or action," and injury means "a wound or damage." If someone already has an injury and you add an insult too, the situation becomes worse both practically and emotionally. This idiom is especially useful when an extra comment, unfair treatment, or new problem makes a bad situation hurt even more.
例文
Losing his job was hard enough, but the company really added insult to injury by refusing to pay him on time.
職を失っただけでもつらいのに、会社は給料の支払いまで遅らせて追い打ちをかけた。
She missed her flight, and to add insult to injury, her luggage was sent to the wrong city.
飛行機に乗り遅れたうえに、荷物まで別の街に送られて追い打ちをかけられた。
The article criticized his mistake, then added insult to injury by mocking him in the final paragraph.
その記事は彼の失敗を批判したうえ、最後の段落であざけってさらに追い打ちをかけた。
泣きっ面に蜂
(意味 2)解説 Definition
すでに悪い状況をさらに悪化させる行為や言動のこと。傷口に塩を塗るような行為。
Add insult to injury means to make a bad situation even worse by doing or saying something hurtful after a problem has already happened. It is used when one difficulty is followed by another unfair or unpleasant thing. The phrase often carries a feeling of frustration.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
add insult to injury は、ことわざ的な日本語「泣きっ面に蜂」として覚えます。insult「侮辱」と injury「傷」が重なるので、すでに傷ついている人や困っている状況に、さらに嫌な言葉や出来事が加わる絵を作ると残ります。単なる追加の不運よりも、失敗・損失・弱った気持ちへの追い打ちという精神的な痛みを含みやすい表現です。
Break it into insult and injury. If someone already has an injury and you add an insult, the situation becomes even more painful. This helps you remember it as making a bad situation worse, especially through words, attitude, or extra trouble.
例文
Not only did he arrive late, but to add insult to injury, he didn't apologize.
彼は遅刻しただけでなく、泣きっ面に蜂で謝りもしなかった。
She lost her wallet, and to add insult to injury, it started raining.
彼女は財布を失くした上に、追い打ちをかけるように雨が降り出した。
The restaurant overcharged us, and to add insult to injury, the food was terrible.
そのレストランは料金を過剰請求し、さらに悪いことに料理もひどかった。
add insult to injury の語源・成り立ち Etymology
insult はラテン語 insultare「飛びかかる」、injury は iniuria「不正・権利侵害」に由来します。傷の上に侮辱を加える比喩から、悪化させる意味になりました。
The phrase is based on the image of adding an insult on top of an injury. Insult comes from Latin insultare, meaning "to jump on or attack," and injury comes from Latin iniuria, meaning "wrong" or "injustice." From this image, the expression came to mean making a painful situation even worse.
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