as deaf as an adder, to add fuel to the fire, to add insult to injury

adder: Explore its Definition & Usage

adder Definition

a venomous snake found in Eurasia and Africa.

Using adder: Examples

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "adder" can be used in various situations through the following examples!

Example
The adder is the only venomous snake found in the UK.
Example
The bite of an adder can be very painful and sometimes fatal.
Example
Adders are usually shy and will avoid humans if possible.

Phrases with adder

as deaf as an adder
completely deaf
Example
He's as deaf as an adder and needs a hearing aid to communicate.
to add fuel to the fire
to make a bad situation worse
Example
His comments only added fuel to the fire and made the argument worse.
to add insult to injury
to make a bad situation even worse by doing something else to upset someone
Example
Not only did he crash my car, but he also spilled coffee on my new shirt - he really added insult to injury.

Origins of adder

from Old English 'nædre', meaning 'snake'

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Summary: adder in Brief

An 'adder' [ˈædər] is a venomous snake found in Eurasia and Africa. It is the only venomous snake found in the UK. Phrases like 'as deaf as an adder' use 'adder' to denote complete deafness, while 'to add fuel to the fire' and 'to add insult to injury' use 'add' to denote making a bad situation worse.