rake over the coals
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]The earliest example given is from 1565: "S. Augustine, that knewe best how to fetche an heretike ouer the coles." (OED). From the practice of dragging or raking heretics over coals performed by the Catholic Church as a form of torture.
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
[edit]rake over the coals (third-person singular simple present rakes over the coals, present participle raking over the coals, simple past and past participle raked over the coals)
References
[edit]- Oxford English Dictionary
- Your Dictionary.com
- “rake over the coals”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.