Why do we say "add insult to injury"?

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the idiom "adding insult to injury" as something "said when you feel that someone has made a bad situation worse by doing something else to upset you." It has become such a popular idiom in the English language that it's even recommended as an example for people preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam.

So what is the history behind this expression, which connects the idea of physical attack to verbal offense, and why did it become so widespread? Here's a look at the story behind the phrase.

The Roman Roots of a Common Cliché

The English phrase "to add insult to injury" actually has its origins in another language: it's a direct translation of the Latin words "injuriae contumeliam addere." It therefore isn't surprising to discover that some of its roots can be found in the Latin literature of ancient Rome, including works by the poet Virgil.

An article by a lecturer from San Diego State University highlights the connection between the concepts of injury and insult in classical works, drawing attention to the fact that characters in these ancient literary works who face each other on the battlefield frequently duel in words as well as in weapons.

For example, in Virgil's epic poem Aeneid, the character of Turnus marks his victory after slaying his enemy Eumedes by making a disparaging comment about his defeated opponent.

The Fable That Preserved the Phrase

The expression is referenced directly in the work of another Roman writer, Phaedrus, a poet who was the first to introduce the concept of fables to Latin literature. While the fable form is credited to the Greek storyteller Aesop, whose work circulated verbally, Phaedrus played an important role in setting these stories down on the page.

The "insult to injury" phrase can be found in his famous collection of fables, within the story known as "The Bald Man and the Fly." In the fable, a fly bites the head of a bald man, who tries to crush the fly but succeeds in hurting himself in the process.

This provokes the following response: "Then said the Fly jeeringly: 'You wanted to revenge the sting of a tiny insect with death; what will you do to yourself, who have added insult to injury?'"

And so an evocative phrase began to take shape. Despite its ancient origins, it wouldn't be recorded in the English language until 1748, according to the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, but once it found a foothold in English, it endured, and it continues to be widely used today.

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This article was originally published on mentalfloss.com as Why Do We Say "Add Insult to Injury"?.