To rub salt in the wounds was to help heal . So why does to" rub salt in the wounds" mean the opposite?

Question

Just to expand on the above.
I gather that in the past, salt was rubbed in a wound to help the healing process.
So why does the current phrase, " to rub salt in the wound" mean to make things worse?

Thanks ,


John S

ThunderEnd

Answer 1

,comes from the days of the tall ships, sailors were punished by flogging, and as they couldn't afford to have infection set in, salt was poured into the open wounds, this was nearly as painful as the flogging, so "pouring salt on soar wounds" made the pain much worse

Answer 2

To rub salt in the wounds means to cause a person additional pain beside the pain of the initial wound. Putting salt in a wound surely must hurt!

Answer 3

Basically John, Rubbing salt into ones wound means that although lt was usually applied to reduce infection and aid healing it hurts as much as if not more than the original wound. In the past, when a sailor was flogged while at sea. the only treatment available to stop infections was salt and this was liberally applied.

Answer 4

While rubbing salt into wounds would help wounds heal it was normally done after, sometimes even as part of, a punishment

Sailors on ship would have salt rubbed into their wounds to increase the pain after a flogging AND ALSO because the ship couldn't afford to lose lose a crew member to any infection that may set in after the flogging

Answer 5

I've never heard of salt being used to cure a wound -- could you please give me a source so I can check it out in more detail? Thanks!

Oil and wine were common 'medicines' in ancient times -- wine as an antiseptic and oil to soothe the injured area. But I would think that the pain from placing salt on a large wound could send the victim into shock. That would definitely make things worse!

At any rate, salt stings like he-double toothpicks, as anyone who's ever gotten sweat in a cut could tell you. So to figuratively rub salt into a wound is to add more pain to the existing discomfort. Sort of like "adding insult to injury."

Answer 6

Did you ever rub salt in a wound? It hurts like hell!

Answer 7

It's like pouring lemon juice on it, the high acidic content BURNS :-/




More salt Idioms at http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/rub+salt+into+the+wound

Answer 8

I may be mistaken but I think it is the iodine in "iodized" salt that acts as a disinfectant and promotes healing. Either way it hurts!

Answer 9

Salt in the wounds stings, so we use it to mean to humiliate you even more

Answer 10

yeah because it hurts. and some peoplle say that to other people being mean. because its an insult. or can be. but yeah. it hurts. like when you go to the ocean and the salt gets in your cut. mhmm. not a good feeling.