"twist the knife" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Derived from the fact that the act of literally twisting a knife that is still inside someone who has just been stabbed will widen the wound and make it even more painful.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "twists the knife",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "twisting the knife",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "twisted the knife",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "twisted the knife",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "twist the knife (third-person singular simple present twists the knife, present participle twisting the knife, simple past and past participle twisted the knife)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "knife twister"
        },
        {
          "word": "twist of the knife"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009, Lucy Dillon, Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts, Berkley, published 2011, page 198",
          "text": "\"And I'm not seeing anyone,\" she added, just to twist the knife — in whom, she wasn't sure.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To deliberately do or say something to worsen a difficult situation or increase a person's distress, irritation, or anger."
      ],
      "id": "en-twist_the_knife-en-verb-obKWGeJR",
      "links": [
        [
          "deliberately",
          "deliberately"
        ],
        [
          "worsen",
          "worsen"
        ],
        [
          "difficult",
          "difficult"
        ],
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "increase",
          "increase"
        ],
        [
          "distress",
          "distress"
        ],
        [
          "irritation",
          "irritation"
        ],
        [
          "anger",
          "anger"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, figuratively) To deliberately do or say something to worsen a difficult situation or increase a person's distress, irritation, or anger."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "kick someone when they are down"
        },
        {
          "word": "rub salt in the wound"
        },
        {
          "word": "turn the knife"
        },
        {
          "word": "twist the knife in the wound"
        },
        {
          "word": "turn the knife in the wound"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "vääntää veistä haavassa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "remuer le couteau dans la plaie"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "girare il coltello nella piaga"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "pogarszać"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "pogarszyć"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "hacer sangre"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "twist the knife"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "knife twister"
    },
    {
      "word": "twist of the knife"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Derived from the fact that the act of literally twisting a knife that is still inside someone who has just been stabbed will widen the wound and make it even more painful.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "twists the knife",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "twisting the knife",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "twisted the knife",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "twisted the knife",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "twist the knife (third-person singular simple present twists the knife, present participle twisting the knife, simple past and past participle twisted the knife)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English informal terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Translation table header lacks gloss"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009, Lucy Dillon, Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts, Berkley, published 2011, page 198",
          "text": "\"And I'm not seeing anyone,\" she added, just to twist the knife — in whom, she wasn't sure.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To deliberately do or say something to worsen a difficult situation or increase a person's distress, irritation, or anger."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "deliberately",
          "deliberately"
        ],
        [
          "worsen",
          "worsen"
        ],
        [
          "difficult",
          "difficult"
        ],
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "increase",
          "increase"
        ],
        [
          "distress",
          "distress"
        ],
        [
          "irritation",
          "irritation"
        ],
        [
          "anger",
          "anger"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, figuratively) To deliberately do or say something to worsen a difficult situation or increase a person's distress, irritation, or anger."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "kick someone when they are down"
    },
    {
      "word": "rub salt in the wound"
    },
    {
      "word": "turn the knife"
    },
    {
      "word": "twist the knife in the wound"
    },
    {
      "word": "turn the knife in the wound"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "vääntää veistä haavassa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "remuer le couteau dans la plaie"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "girare il coltello nella piaga"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "pogarszać"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "pogarszyć"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "hacer sangre"
    }
  ],
  "word": "twist the knife"
}