wear sackcloth and ashes
Meaning: To show public regret or repentance.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “After the scandal, the CEO appeared in sackcloth and ashes on every talk show.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: In the Bible, people mourning or repenting wore rough sackcloth and put ashes on their heads, as in the books of Esther and Daniel and in the Gospels.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Battre sa coulpe — literally: To beat one's fault
More idioms — Daily Life
- sit on the fence — To avoid taking sides.
- take an ax to — To cut something drastically, especially spending or jobs.
- in the crosshairs — Targeted for attack, criticism or scrutiny.
- raise a hue and cry — To make a loud public protest.
- a Sophie's choice — An agonizing choice between two terrible options.
- at someone's beck and call — Always ready to obey someone's orders.
More English idioms
- take a load off someone's mind — To relieve someone of a worry.
- a bottomless pit — Something that uses up endless money or effort; also a person who is always hungry.
- in the middle of nowhere — In a very remote place, far from towns.
- out of thin air — Appearing from nowhere, as if by magic.
- be at a low ebb — To be in a poor or weak state.
- the four corners of the earth — Every part of the world.