Idiom
sackcloth and ashes
Meaning
A public display of deep grief, mourning, or remorse.
Examples
“After the blunder, the manager was in sackcloth and ashes for a week.”
“The company issued a grovelling apology and put on a display of sackcloth and ashes that fooled no one.”
“There was no need for sackcloth and ashes, the chairman told him; a simple correction and a lesson learned would do far more good than the elaborate public self-flagellation he seemed so eager to perform.”
Examples
simple
“After the blunder, the manager was in sackcloth and ashes for a week.”
contextual
“The company issued a grovelling apology and put on a display of sackcloth and ashes that fooled no one.”
complex
“There was no need for sackcloth and ashes, the chairman told him; a simple correction and a lesson learned would do far more good than the elaborate public self-flagellation he seemed so eager to perform.”
Origin
Sackcloth and ashes was a recognised ritual of mourning and repentance across the ancient Near East, and the Bible mentions it repeatedly — Mordecai puts on sackcloth and ashes in Esther 4:1, and Jesus refers to the custom in Matthew 11:21. Sackcloth was coarse, uncomfortable goat-hair fabric, and ashes were smeared on the head or sat in, both visibly signalling grief or contrition.
The point was that the sorrow or penitence be seen: this was mourning made public and physical, a deliberate outward sign of an inward state.
In English to be in sackcloth and ashes means to display open, sometimes exaggerated remorse or grief — and the phrase often carries a dry note, hinting that the show of penitence may be a touch more theatrical than the feeling behind it.
Stories
Kings & Prophets · See all Biblical origin
The rise and fall of kings and the warnings of the prophets.
David and Goliath — A contest in which a much weaker underdog faces a far stronger opponent.
the writing on the wall — A clear sign that something, especially failure or disaster, is on its way.
feet of clay — In someone apparently strong and without failings, a hidden weakness which could lead to downfall.
a drop in the bucket — A quantity so small it is negligible next to what is actually needed.
a leopard cannot change its spots — People rarely change their fundamental nature, however much they may seem to.
how the mighty have fallen — A remark on the dramatic downfall of someone once powerful or admired.
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated