The idiom "twist the knife" means to make a bad situation worse by deliberately causing more pain or discomfort. It is often used to describe a situation where someone is already upset or hurt, and another person intentionally makes things worse for them.
For example, if someone is already feeling sad because they lost their job, and then someone else starts criticizing their skills and abilities, they are "twisting the knife" by adding insult to injury.
This idiom can also be used to describe a situation where someone is intentionally trying to hurt or upset another person. For instance, if someone is already feeling embarrassed about a mistake they made, and then someone else starts making fun of them, they are "twisting the knife" by intentionally causing more pain.
In summary, "twist the knife" means to make a bad situation worse by intentionally causing more pain or discomfort, and it is used to describe situations where someone is already upset or hurt, and another person intentionally makes things worse for them.
• My ex-boyfriend always twist the knife by talking about our past relationship in front of my new partner.
• She twisted the knife by pointing out all the flaws in his work, even though he had worked hard on it.
• It's not fair to twist the knife when someone is already down.
• The politician twisted the knife by announcing the cancellation of the healthcare plans during the pandemic.
• I accidentally twisted the knife while cutting vegetables.
• The boss twisted the knife by firing the employee on his birthday.