Rubbing it in

Posted by ESC on November 11, 2002

In Reply to: Rubbing it in posted by Bob on November 11, 2002

: : What does it mean when an American says "Stop rubbing it in" and also, "I didn't get to sleep in." The two are not related. Thanks for you help.

: "Stop rubbing it in" means "you've reminded me once that I was incorrect, and now you've repeated it, and repeated it, for the satisfaction it gives you to see my discomfort. Enough. You've made you point, so stop."

: "I didn't get to sleep in" means something like "I wanted to sleep for 8 hours even though I went to bed at 2 in the morning ... but duty called and I had to get up for work at 7."

Could "rubbing it in" relate to the phrase "rubbing salt in someone's wounds," making a bad situation worse?

I never heard "sleeping in" for sleeping late until I moved from the rural area of West Virginia to the "big city." Maybe that's because country people never get to "sleep in."

• Rubbing it in JGF 12/04/02