English idiom

twist the knife

Register · Neutral CEFR B2

Post

Figurative meaning

to deliberately make an already painful situation feel even worse

Word picture

Emotional pain is pictured as an existing wound made worse by turning a knife inside it.

Example

“Mentioning the missed penalty after the final defeat only twisted the knife.”

Dictionary details

Component words

twist knife

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

drive someone up the wall

to make someone feel extremely annoyed or frustrated

sick and tired

extremely annoyed with someone or something and unwilling to tolerate it any longer

add fuel to the fire

To make a bad situation or an argument worse.

bite someone's head off

to answer someone with sudden and often unjustified anger

hate someone's guts

to feel an extremely strong hatred for someone

hot under the collar

noticeably irritated or angry

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

External links

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