sackcloth

Related to sackcloth: sackcloth and ashes

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

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

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.

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.

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

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:
  • be in (one's) good graces
  • be in somebody's good graces
  • be in someone's good graces
  • at doorstep
  • at (one's) doorstep
  • at (one's) expense
  • at expense
  • at somebody's expense
  • at someone's expense
  • be remembered as/for something
References in periodicals archive
And as the form arose from the sackcloth shawl I saw the lacerations upon his body, the river-twisted mouth, the head glorious and those EYES EYES EYES.
Preachin' and singin' just to make it over: the gospel impulse as survival strategy in Leon Forrest's Bloodworth Trilogy
The Temple Mount Faithful organization has once again called upon Jews to come to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, wearing sackcloth, marking the day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
Temple Mount Faithful Calls Upon Jews to Ascend to Temple Mount
Berlin's development since re-unification has allowed Germany to throw off the sackcloth and ashes of 50 years and catch up with the pomposity of other European capitals.
Power dressing
And because the NEA report sees art manifested in such entertainments as children's face painting, culture becomes divorced from either "seriousness" or "quality." A number of pro-NEA critics looked at the report, saw betrayal, and donned sackcloth. Having given over art to the state to protect it from the seductive wiles of profit, they were shocked to discover that art had commenced sleeping with politics instead.
Who killed culture?
The argument partly depends upon a proposed solution to the well-known crux in Act IV which here becomes `men may ropes and sackcloth wearre'.
Shakespeare's Courtly Mirror: Reflexivity and Prudence in 'All's Well That Ends Well.'
A little bit of 'sackcloth and ashes' is sometimes appropriate."
JUDGE BLASTS MAN OVER LATE PAYMENTS TO HIS EX; Debt-dridden businessman drives new car but can't pay [euro]22k divorce settlement
You may have seen the item in the London press stating we supporters must get the sackcloth and ashes out for our antipathy to Pardew.
A VIEW FROM THE GALLOWGATE
Chapter 3 of the Book of Jonah also records one of the greatest if not the greatest spiritual revival in Biblical history - a touching picture of all the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth including the King of Nineveh.
The Biblical City of Nineveh
Imagine frustration Now we've had an inevitable guest appearance of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (in sackcloth and ashes) to apologise that our police forces are failing to protect women from their assailants.
Our 'holy cows' are own worst enemies
The company worked with the Bishops Tachbrook History Group on the film and several local school children turned out to be dressed in sackcloth and plastered in Bronze Age make-up for filming in Oakley Woods.
Villagers set for world premiere
The end result is that Mrs Young and Peter Elson are both right in their different ways, and that Peter has been spared the Daily Post punishment of hiking from Waterloo to Southport wearing nothing but sackcloth and ashes.
Coast path riddle; MARK THOMAS TRUST THE POST
Perhaps those who seek to belittle the thousands of women who attend Aintree believe they should be chained to the kitchen sink and wearing sackcloth and ashes instead.
Ah, they're jealous of us!
I know Carrie and the girls wore weird creations but I don't recall them ever stepping out in sackcloth and ashes.
Marks and Spencer
It would have been more appropriate for him to arrive in sackcloth and ashes to indicate a penitential church rather than a triumphal tour with all the accouterments of royalty.
Sackcloth prescribed
Raffill spices up the sun-kissed menage a trois with a dash of voodoo, condemning the lead characters to a hellish fate dictated by a witch woman (Victoria Di Pace), who dances around a fridge containing handmade sackcloth dolls.
FRESH