Rub it in

If you “rub it in”, you make a bad situation worse by commenting on it or reminding someone about it. We often do this when we tease people in a fun way. The full expression is: “To rub salt in a wound”.

1. Calvin and Hobbes are standing in the pouring rain waiting for the school bus. Calvin talks about how comfortable and warm he would be if he were still in bed. Hobbes doesn’t have to go to school with Calvin and rubs it in by saying that he was going to get back into the warm, cozy bed.

2.  
- In the last Soccer World Cup, South Africa didn’t make it to the round of 16.
- I know… please don’t remind me.
- Weren’t they beaten by Uruguay and eliminated? The goalkeeper got 
  a red card…
- Now you’re just rubbing it in… Everyone knows it was a bad call 
  by the referee.
- Wasn’t the score 0-3?

3.  A conversation on Skype:
[17:12 PM] Frank Degenaar: Hey Amauri, how are you doing in Finland?
[17:12 PM] Amauri Holanda: It’s freezing... I can’t feel my toes it’s so cold, even with
                                         2 pairs of socks on!!
[17:13 PM] Frank Degenaar: Well, today I went to the beach and worked on my tan...
                                          And you? Did you go ice fishing?
[17:13 PM] Amauri Holanda:  LOL! Stop rubbing it in! No… I’ve been doing some research
                                          for my doctorate… on things you’ll never understand.
[17:14 PM] Frank Degenaar: Yeah, I know… now you’re rubbing it in! I know… I’m just a
                                          simple English teacher :)

4. Not to rub it in… but I’ll send you a postcard from Hawaii to put on your desk… so you can think of me lying in a hammock between 2 coconut trees or SCUBA diving in Molokini Crater… while you’re working in your little cubicle in the office.

5. When someone makes a mistake or has a small accident, do you rub it in and criticize them or do you encourage them?