Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wear sackcloth and ashes

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.10 in modern English

Syllables
wear -sack-cloth and ash-es
IPA
39
Scrabble Score
21
Letters
4
Syllables
13
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To publicly express regret for something done wrong.

Etymology

From the Bible Book of Esther 4:1 "When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly".

Inflected Forms

wears sackcloth and ashes (present, singular) wearing sackcloth and ashes (participle, present) wore sackcloth and ashes (past) worn sackcloth and ashes (participle, past)

Phrases

eat crow beat one's breast

Frequently Paired Words

eat crow beat one's breast

Questions

What does wear sackcloth and ashes mean?
To publicly express regret for something done wrong.
Where does wear sackcloth and ashes come from?
From the Bible Book of Esther 4:1 "When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly".

How to pronounce wear sackcloth and ashes

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wear sackcloth and ashes”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wear sackcloth and ashes”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wear sackcloth and ashes” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.