bæta gráu ofan á svart

From bæta (“to add”) and gráu (“grey, gray”) the dative neutral form of grár (“grey, gray”) and ofan á (“on top of”) and svart (“black”), the accusative neutral form of svartur (“black”); literally meaning "to add gray on top of black".

bæta gráu ofan á svart (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative bætti gráu ofan á svart, supine bætt gráu ofan á svart)

1. (idiomatic) to add insult to injury, to make matters worse, to confound, to make something worse. ^syn.

   Hún var mjög dónaleg í gær og bætti bara gráu ofan á svart með því að biðjast ekki afsökunar.

   She was very rude yesterday and not apologizing only added insult to injury.

• (to make something worse): ^def. gera vont verra, bæta móðgun við meingjörð, blammera