ash

ashes to ashes, dust to dust

A line from the Book of Common Prayer, commonly used in funeral services. It refers to the human body returning to the earth after death. The priest stood over the casket and said, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," as he concluded the service.
See also: ash, dust

be raking over the coals

To be dwelling on something unpleasant. Primarily heard in UK. Yeah, you made a mistake, but it's one we can easily fix, so stop raking over the coals.
See also: coal, over, rake

clash of the ash

1. In the sport of hurling, the sound of opponents' hurleys (long paddle-like sticks, made from ash wood) striking each other. Primarily heard in Ireland. It was an intense match, and the fierce clash of the ash could be heard ringing through the pitch.
2. By extension, a contest between two hurling teams. Primarily heard in Ireland. Fans are gearing up for spectacular clash of the ash this Saturday afternoon.
See also: ash, clash, of

dust and ashes

Something that promises pleasure or fulfillment but results in disappointment or disillusionment. The phrase is used in the Bible to describe the unpleasant taste of an appealing-looking fruit. She was a shopaholic until she realized that material possessions are nothing but dust and ashes.
See also: and, ash, dust

get (one's) ashes hauled

slang To engage in sexual activity, especially intercourse; to achieve sexual release or gratification. Also phrased as "haul (one's) ashes." After six months at sea, everyone onboard was anxious to get their ashes hauled.
See also: ash, get, haul

haul (one's) ashes

1. To leave or depart, especially with great haste. I'm going to break your nose if you don't haul your ashes out of here!
2. slang To engage in sexual activity, especially intercourse; to achieve sexual release or gratification. Also phrased as "get (one's) ashes hauled." After six months at sea, I was quite anxious to haul my ashes!
See also: ash, haul

in sackcloth and ashes

Behaving in a way that shows one's penitence or remorse for one's misdeeds or poor behavior. Darren has been in sackcloth and ashes ever since his girlfriend broke up with him for cheating on her. There's no way to turn back time on the way I treated my brother growing up. All I can do now is stay in sackcloth and ashes.
See also: and, ash, sackcloth

put on sackcloth and ashes

To act in a way that's intended to show one's penitence or remorse for one's misdeeds or poor behavior. Darren has been putting on sackcloth and ashes ever since his girlfriend broke up with him for cheating on her. There's no way to turn back time on the way I treated my brother growing up. All I can do now is put on sackcloth and ashes.
See also: and, ash, on, put, sackcloth

rake over the ashes

To revisit, bring up, or spark the memory of something that happened in the past, especially something unpleasant. Now, now, there's no need to rake over the ashes, that disagreement we had happened a long time ago.
See also: ash, over, rake

rise from the ashes

To emerge renewed, revitalized, or reborn as something different following some total destruction or ruin. A reference to the mythical phoenix, a bird that in many stories bursts into flames upon its death, being born again among the ashes. Over the next few years, a new tower rose from the ashes of the heinous attack, standing as a monument of the country's strength and pride. The company quietly faded into obscurity following its bankruptcy in the late '90s, but now that it has been purchased by the billionaire CEO, it has begun rising from the ashes like the phoenix.
See also: ash, rise

sackcloth and ashes

Penitence or remorse for one's misdeeds or poor behavior. The phrase originates from an ancient tradition of wearing sackcloth as a show of repentance, and is typically accompanied by verbs like "wear." Darren has been wearing sackcloth and ashes ever since his girlfriend broke up with him for cheating on her. There's no way to turn back time on the way I treated my brother growing up. All I can do now is stay in sackcloth and ashes.
See also: and, ash, sackcloth

turn to ashes in (one's) mouth

To become sickeningly disappointing; to go from being a source of joy or hope to one of despair or anger. The joy of our wedding turned to ashes in my mouth as her cruel nature soon began bubbling to the surface. The hope we had turned to ashes in our mouths as it became increasingly clear that the president wouldn't uphold any of his campaign promises.
See also: ash, mouth, turn

wear sackcloth and ashes

To act in a way that shows one's penitence or remorse for one's misdeeds or poor behavior. Darren has been wearing sackcloth and ashes ever since his girlfriend broke up with him for cheating on her. There's no way to turn back time on the way I treated my brother growing up. All I can do now is wear sackcloth and ashes.
See also: and, ash, sackcloth, wear
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rise from the ashes

Fig. [for a structure] to be rebuilt after destruction. The entire west section of the city was destroyed and a group of new buildings rose from the ashes in only a few months. Will the city rise again from the ashes? No one knows.
See also: ash, rise
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

rise from the ashes

Emerge as new from something that has been destroyed, as in A few months after the earthquake large sections of the city had risen from the ashes. This expression alludes to the legendary phoenix, a bird that supposedly rose from the ashes of its funeral pyre with renewed youth.
See also: ash, rise

sackcloth and ashes

Mourning or penitence, as in What I did to Julie's child was terrible, and I've been in sackcloth and ashes ever since . This term refers to the ancient Hebrew custom of indicating humility before God by wearing a coarse cloth, normally used to make sacks, and dusting oneself with ashes. In English it appeared in William Tyndale's 1526 biblical translations (Matthew 11:21), "They [the cities Tyre and Sidon] had repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
See also: and, ash, sackcloth
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

be raking over the coals

or

be raking over the ashes

mainly BRITISH
If someone is raking over the coals or is raking over the ashes, they are talking about something that happened in the past which you think should now be forgotten. Yes, we made mistakes in the past, but let us not waste time raking over the coals when there is hard work to be done. Why must we keep raking over the ashes, causing distress to so many people?
See also: coal, over, rake
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

turn to ashes in your mouth

become bitterly disappointing or worthless.
This phrase alludes to the Dead Sea fruit, a legendary fruit which looked appetizing but turned to smoke and ashes when someone tried to eat it. The fruit are described in the Travels attributed to the 14th-century writer John de Mandeville .
1995 Guardian Those who marvelled at the phenomenal climbing feats of Pedro Delgado in the 1988 Tour found words such as ‘heroic’ and ‘Herculean’ turn to ashes in their mouths during the probenecid (a masking agent) scandal.
See also: ash, mouth, turn

dust and ashes

used to convey a feeling of great disappointment or disillusion about something.
Often found in the fuller form turn to dust and ashes in your mouth , the phrase is used in the Bible as a metaphor for worthlessness, for example in Genesis 18:27 and the Book of Job 30:19. It derives from the legend of the Sodom apple, or Dead Sea fruit, whose attractive appearance tempted people, but which tasted only of dust and ashes when eaten.
See also: and, ash, dust

rise from the ashes

be renewed after destruction.
In classical mythology, the phoenix was a unique bird resembling an eagle that lived for five or six centuries in the Arabian desert. After this time it burned itself on a funeral pyre ignited by the sun and fanned by its own wings and was then born again from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle of life. The simile like a phoenix from the ashes is used of someone or something that has made a fresh start after apparently experiencing total destruction.
See also: ash, rise

in sackcloth and ashes

manifesting grief or repentance.
In the Bible, the wearing of sackcloth and the sprinkling ashes on your head were signs of penitence or mourning.
1999 Athletics Weekly It was their first focal point, the moment of truth when their season could blossom further in Seville or end in sackcloth and ashes.
See also: and, ash, sackcloth
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

rake over the ˈashes/the ˈpast

(informal, disapproving) discuss with somebody unpleasant things that happened between you in the past: When they met each other again, ten years after the divorce, they both tried hard not to rake over the past.
See also: ash, over, past, rake

ˌrise from the ˈashes

become successful or powerful again after defeat or destruction: Can a new party rise from the ashes of the old one?This idiom refers to the story of the phoenix, a mythological bird which burns to death and then rises from the ashes to be born again.
See also: ash, rise

put on, wear, etc. ˌsackcloth and ˈashes

behave in a way that shows that you are sorry for something that you have done: Look, I’ve said I’m sorry! What do you want me to do — put on sackcloth and ashes?This comes from the Bible. People wore sackcloth (= a rough material) and put ash (= the grey powder left after something burns) on their face and hair to show that a person they loved had died or that they were sorry for something they had done.
See also: and, ash, put, sackcloth
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

sackcloth and ashes, to be in

To be penitent or contrite; in a state of repentance. This term alludes to the ancient Hebrew custom of donning a coarse, dark cloth from which sacks were made and dusting oneself with ashes to signify one’s humility before God. It is mentioned in the Bible: “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). The term may be obsolescent.
See also: and, sackcloth
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • fiat lux
  • blow (someone or something) to kingdom come
  • blow someone/something to kingdom come
  • blow to kingdom come
  • take the Browns to the Super Bowl
  • kingdom
  • blow, send, etc. somebody to kingdom come
  • blast (someone or something) to kingdom come
  • average Jane
  • Jane
References in periodicals archive
Marcelo and farmer Rosauro Baino, 62, said rains in the past days have brought the ashes down the rivers and creeks.
Bataan town exec, farmers hit dumping of paper mill ash
Global Soda Ash Market is Set for a Potential Growth and is Expected to Reach USD 23.1 Billion by 2022
Soda Ash Market Global Industry Growth, Key Vendors Historical Analysis, Development Strategy, Sales Revenue, Competitive Landscape and by Forecast 2023
However, Ash Wednesday is a corporate time to hear preaching and teaching on repentance.
Ash Wednesday a solemn reminder of mortality, sinfulness and salvation
Since 2015, a full-scale production plant in Poland has processed coal ash from a utility landfill as feed material, generating upward of 50,000 metric tons of Light Weight Aggregate (LWA) product annually.
Boral transforms sub-grade ash to performance, lightweight aggregate
Fly ash has varying qualities, depending on the burning process and the coal source.
Influence of Particle Size Distribution of High Calcium Fly Ash on HVFA Mortar Properties
According to lead author Alex Poulidis of Kyoto University, the findings showed that the shape of La Soufriere "affects the wind patterns and atmospheric conditions, influencing ash deposition over hundreds of [kilometers] from Saint Vincent, including on the island of Barbados, 180 [kilometers] away."
RESEARCH INVESTIGATES VOLCANIC ASH DISTRIBUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE
The Soda Ash Business has remained a supplier of choice, consistently producing quality soda ash, an integral raw material for various industries.
The Soda Ash Business through the Decades
But a tree that rivals the birch in terms of sheer utility is the black ash tree.
Baapaagimaak: The Black Ash of Michigan A Tree and Art Form Worth Saving
The proposed mechanisms responsible for the insecticidal activity of inorganic dusts like volcanic ash include: (a) toxicity by ingestion, (b) dehydration, (c) chemical reactions at the insect cuticle, and (d) direct mechanical action (Chiu 1939; Edwards & Schwartz 1981).
Effects of dietary intake of volcanic ash from Puyehue Cordon Caulle on Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae under laboratory conditions
Today most "mainline" denominations, including Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians and others allow for the "imposition" (as called in Catholic and Episcopalian prayer books) of ashes during an Ash Wednesday service.
Why Do Christians Wear Ashes On Ash Wednesday?
"It is very significant and so meaningful that our Ash Wednesday this year falls on Valentine's Day, the day of hearts, the occasion to express love.
Ash Wednesday: Faithful reminded of God's enormous love for mankind
Based on the latest record of the agency, the volcano had two ash eruptions between 7 a.m.
Mayon continues to spew ash on Thursday
Fly ash is a by-product from the residue of coal combustion, and it is a kind of pozzolana.
The Influence of Ground Fly Ash on Cement Hydration and Mechanical Property of Mortar
In announcing the agreement in late September, Charlie Sunderland, Ash Grove chairman, said, "CRH, as our largest customer, has enjoyed a close and highly productive relationship with Ash Grove for many decades.
CRH to Acquire Ash Grove Cement