Wearing Clothes Made From Goat Hair, and Other Ways to Show You Are Sorry

Now it's time for Words and Their Stories -- our weekly program about common, everyday expressions in American English.

During the next few weeks, many people in South America will celebrate Carnival¹. It is a time of music and dancing. The party ends before the Christian² observance of Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on February 26.

Ash Wednesday has a very different feeling than Carnival. It is meant to be a day of prayer, sorrow and asking for forgiveness.

In American English, guilt³ or sadness is often expressed by the symbol of ashes – the gray matter left over from a fire. For example, if you are feeling really bad about something you did, you might say you are wearing sackcloth and ashes.

The phrase is repeated in several places in the Bible⁴, the Christian holy book. The word "sackcloth" refers to a kind of clothing that feels rough on the skin. It was sometimes made of goat hair. Wearing something made of sackcloth was a sign that a person was trying to punish himself.

As for the ashes part, the willingness to be touched by dirty material showed that a person was humble⁵ and that he understood he would someday die.

Yes, the image is pretty serious. You can use the expression in a somewhat⁶ serious way, too. Let's say you forgot that you invited your boyfriend or girlfriend to a special birthday date. Your beloved⁷ waited for you, for hours, crying, in the rain. Much later, you sit up in bed and remember your missed appointment.

You immediately call your partner and say that you are so sorry. You promise to wear sackcloth and ashes for the rest of the month.

Of course, you do not really have to put on a shirt made of animal hair. But you could show you are sorry in a different way. Maybe you cook your partner dinner every night for a week, or buy a meaningful gift.

You can also use the phrase "sackcloth and ashes" in a sarcastic⁸ way. This means you say it, but do not really mean it. Let's say you have done some very small bad thing, like borrowed your co-worker's coffee cup without asking. And now, she won't let you forget it. Every time you walk by, she holds her cup close to her and gives you an angry look. She also tells all your other co-workers not to trust you with any of their supplies, such as pens or plastic spoons. At the next team meeting, she asks your boss for a lock so she can keep her cup safe from you. "Okay, okay!" you might say. "I'm sorry! Do I have to wear sackcloth and ashes?"

Your angry co-worker just might say yes. She is clearly enjoying raking⁹ you over the ashes. In other words, she repeatedly¹⁰ brings up a past mistake. The phrase calls to mind a fire that has almost gone out, but that can be started again with a little effort.

Of course, being sarcastic is not always a good idea. It rarely makes other people want to forgive you. You would probably be better off apologizing honestly to your co-worker. But saying something nice when you are angry can be difficult. The sweet words might turn to ashes in your mouth. In fact, as an expression, anything can turn to ashes. A hopeful feeling, a relationship – maybe even your job if your co-worker keeps complaining about you – all can dry up and disappear.

Fortunately, most things can also rise from the ashes. In other words, what was thought to be dead or destroyed can return to life, often in a new and better way.

That is a good image to remember during periods of difficulty or loss. Usually, the situation does not last. In time, things get better, and you might soon find yourself playing music and dancing again.

And that's Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

humble - adj. not proud : not thinking of yourself as better than other people

spoon - n. an eating or cooking tool that has a small shallow bowl attached to a handle

1 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

4 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

5 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

6 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。

7 beloved   

adj./n.受爱戴的，敬爱的；爱人，被心爱的人

参考例句：

• She longs for the early return of her beloved.她盼着心上人早日归来。
• She is Tom's beloved wife.她是汤姆的爱妻。

8 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

9 raking   

粗筛

参考例句：

• He is raking around in the library for some reference books. 他正在图书馆里找参考书。
• How would you like to spend your Sundays raking up dead leaves? 你难道会愿意在园里耙枯叶子来消磨你的星期天？

10 repeatedly   

adv.重复地，再三地

参考例句：

• The loudspeakers blared the speech repeatedly.扬声器里反复大声地播送那篇演讲。
• He repeatedly beat his foot upon the floor.他反复用脚敲着地板。