Everyone sometimes feels a bit upset when they are insulted. To help understand how these feelings are expressed in English, let’s explore some common idioms related to insults. These phrases show us creative ways to talk about getting or giving an insult without using plain language. Perfect for kids and adults alike to learn and use in everyday conversation!
Insult Idioms
Here are 20 insult idioms in English.
1. Add insult to injury
Meaning: Make a bad situation worse
Example: He laughed, adding insult to injury.
2. Rub salt in the wound
Meaning: Worsen someone’s distress
Example: Mentioning her error was rubbing salt in the wound.
3. Kick someone when they are down
Meaning: Criticize someone in a bad situation
Example: Criticizing his skills now is kicking him when he’s down.
4. Slap in the face
Meaning: An unexpected insult or injury
Example: Not inviting her was a slap in the face.
5. Throw shade
Meaning: Subtly insult or criticize
Example: She threw shade with her backhanded compliment.
6. Cut to the quick
Meaning: Deeply hurt someone’s feelings
Example: His words cut her to the quick.
7. Twist the knife
Meaning: Make someone’s suffering worse
Example: He twisted the knife by laughing at me.
8. Backhanded compliment
Meaning: Insult disguised as a compliment
Example: Her comment was a backhanded compliment.
9. Give a piece of one’s mind
Meaning: Speak angrily or frankly
Example: She gave him a piece of her mind.
10. Take a dig at
Meaning: Subtly insult someone
Example: He took a dig at my cooking skills.
11. Hit below the belt
Meaning: Act unfairly or cruelly
Example: That personal comment hit below the belt.
12. Shoot down in flames
Meaning: Reject harshly or humiliatingly
Example: His idea was shot down in flames.
13. Throw someone under the bus
Meaning: Betray someone to avoid blame
Example: She threw me under the bus to save herself.
14. Sour grapes
Meaning: Disparaging what one cannot have
Example: Calling his award trivial was sour grapes.
15. Burn bridges
Meaning: Destroy one’s own opportunities
Example: Quitting like that burned his bridges.
16. Blow off steam
Meaning: Express anger to relieve stress
Example: He blew off steam after the meeting.
17. Lose face
Meaning: Be humiliated or disrespected
Example: He lost face when the truth came out.
18. Have the last laugh
Meaning: Ultimately succeed despite setbacks
Example: She had the last laugh over her critics.
19. Wash one’s hands of
Meaning: Disassociate from something damaging
Example: He washed his hands of the dishonest deal.
20. Throw the first stone
Meaning: Be the first to criticize
Example: He’s always ready to throw the first stone.
