| 释义 |
DictionarySeerakerake over the coals
rake (one) over the coalsTo scold, reprimand, or reprove one severely for an error or mistake. I was raked over the coals by my boss last week for messing up the accounting software. I know Mary messed up, but don't rake her over the coals too hard for it.See also: coal, over, rakerake someone over the coals and haul someone over the coalsFig. to give someone a severe scolding. My mother hauled me over the coals for coming in late last night. The manager raked me over the coals for being late again.See also: coal, over, rakerake over the coalsAlso, haul over the coals. Reprimand severely, as in When Dad finds out about the damage to the car, he's sure to rake Peter over the coals, or The coach hauled him over the coals for missing practice. These terms allude to the medieval torture of pulling a heretic over red-hot coals. [Early 1800s] See also: coal, over, rake rake over the coals To reprimand severely.See also: coal, over, rakehaul/rake over the coals, toTo administer a severe reprimand. The term alludes to the medieval practice of pulling an alleged heretic over the coals of a slow fire, which is described in numerous sixteenth-century church chronicles. By the early nineteenth century the term had been transferred to more benign kinds of punishment, often signifying only a severe scolding, as in Byron’s poem “Beppo” (1818): “They’d haul o’er the coals.” See also: haul, over, rakerake over the coalsSee haul over the coals.See also: coal, over, rake |