twist of the knife
1
8.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
sal en la herida
- The sudden news of his demotion was a real twist of the knife, especially after he had just been promoted.
Examples
-
Okay, there was a twist of the knife in the implication that Baradai is not likely to persist in Egyptian politics, but hey, this is politics...
Blog text (8) -
When she revealed his betrayal during the meeting, it was a cruel twist of the knife after he thought he was safe.
-
"On it, a message that served as a final twist of the knife: "He lacked affection for his loved ones."
Blog text (21) -
That kind of friendship, the taste of death in the back of your throat, your enemy going limp with a final twist of the knife.
-
Hearing her ex-boyfriend's new song, she felt a twist of the knife as the lyrics spoke of moving on without her.
Synonyms
2
6.3
Something that makes an already bad situation worse
1
5.4
An action that hurts or deceives someone on purpose
Antonyms
How Hurtful
- Informal
2
6.3
- Informal
1
8.9
- Offensive
8
7.0
- Offensive
342
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal components 'twist' and 'knife' evoke a clear image of increasing physical pain, which lets learners infer a metaphorical sense of making someone feel worse; this is a widespread bodily-harm metaphor found in many languages. However, the specific pragmatic nuance—that it refers to a deliberate remark or action that intensifies emotional distress after a setback—requires mapping the physical image to social/emotional contexts, so the sense is not fully predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The idiom twist of the knife comes from the image of someone turning a knife in a wound. A twist makes the pain worse, so the phrase means 'an action or remark that hurts someone more after they are already hurt'.