Rub Someone's Nose in it.
English
idiom
Remind someone of their mistakes or failures.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
Remind someone of their mistakes or failures.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To remind someone of their mistake or failure repeatedly and unpleasantly.
When you rub someone's nose in it, you keep bringing up something they did wrong in a way that feels humiliating.
It's used when someone can't let go of another person's error and keeps pointing it out.
"Throw It in Someone's Face"
—
To use someone's past mistake against them aggressively in an argument
"Give Someone a Hard Time"
—
To tease, criticize, or make things difficult for someone in a sustained way
"Rub Someone's Nose in it"
—
Repeatedly and humiliatingly reminding someone of their mistake
I made the error on the report — I know, I already fixed it.
I'm not trying to rub your nose in it — just making sure it doesn't happen again.
You've mentioned my bad investment three times this week.
Sorry — I didn't mean to keep rubbing your nose in it.
My brother keeps bringing up the time I wrecked his car — years ago.
He needs to let it go — there's no reason to keep rubbing your nose in it.
