Etymology

This was derived from the fables of Phaedrus in the first century AD. The story was of a bald man who swats at a fly which has just bitten him on the head, but instead hits himself on the head. The fly comments, "You wished to kill me for a touch. What will you do to yourself since you have added insult to injury". The actual wording appears in English from the middle of the 18th century.

Verb

1. To further a loss with mockery or indignity.

   As if the hostile takeover weren't enough, to add insult to injury they scrapped ninety percent of our products and replaced them with their own.