Idiom
rend one's garments
Meaning
To fret or moan in an excessive or theatrical manner.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Stop rending your garments over such a small mistake.”
“Whenever the team loses a game, the fans start rending their garments as if the world is ending.”
“Instead of seeking a practical solution to the crisis, the politicians preferred to rend their garments in public for the sake of appearances.”
Examples
simple
“Stop rending your garments over such a small mistake.”
contextual
“Whenever the team loses a game, the fans start rending their garments as if the world is ending.”
complex
“Instead of seeking a practical solution to the crisis, the politicians preferred to rend their garments in public for the sake of appearances.”
Origin
From the Jewish practice of keriah, a tradition of mourning that involves the ritual tearing of one's clothes. The expression draws directly from the biblical custom of manifesting internal grief through the visible destruction of one's attire.
Key words
Related idioms
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