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rake over the coals

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coal

  [kohl]
Use rake over the coals in a Sentence
–noun
1. a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
2. a piece of glowing, charred, or burned wood or other combustible substance.
3. charcoal (def. 1).
–verb (used with object)
4. to burn to coal or charcoal.
5. to provide with coal.
–verb (used without object)
6. to take in coal for fuel.
—Idioms
7. heap coals of fire on someone's head, to repay evil with good in order to make one's enemy repent.
8. rake, haul, drag, call, or take over the coals, to reprimand; scold: They were raked over the coals for turning out slipshod work.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME cole, OE col; c. D kool, G Kohle, ON kol

Related forms:
coalless, adjective
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rake

1  [reyk] noun, verb, raked, rak⋅ing.
–noun
1. an agricultural implement with teeth or tines for gathering cut grass, hay, or the like or for smoothing the surface of the ground.
2. any of various implements having a similar form, as a croupier's implement for gathering in money on a gaming table.
–verb (used with object)
3. to gather, draw, or remove with a rake: to rake dead leaves from a lawn.
4. to clear, smooth, or prepare with a rake: to rake a garden bed.
5. to clear (a fire, embers, etc.) by stirring with a poker or the like.
6. to gather or collect abundantly (usually fol. by in): He marketed his invention and has been raking in money ever since.
7. to bring to light, usually for discreditable reasons (usually fol. by up): to rake up an old scandal.
8. to search thoroughly through: They raked the apartment for the missing jewels.
9. to scrape; scratch: The sword's tip raked his face lightly.
10. to scoop out (a masonry joint) to a given depth while the mortar is still green.
11. to fire guns along the length of (a position, body of troops, ship, etc.).
12. to sweep with the eyes: He raked the horizon with his gaze.
–verb (used without object)
13. to use a rake: The gardener raked along the border of the garden.
14. to search, as with a rake: His gaze raked over the room.
15. to scrape; search: She frantically raked through her belongings.
—Idiom
16. rake over the coals. coal (def. 8).
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME rak(e), OE raca (masc.), racu (fem.); c. G Rechen, ON reka shovel; (v.) ME raken, partly deriv. of the n., partly < ON raka to scrape, rake

Related forms:
rak⋅a⋅ble, rake⋅a⋅ble, adjective
raker, noun

Synonyms:
8. comb, scour, ransack.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rake over the coals
rake 1   (rāk)   
n.  

  1. A long-handled implement with a row of projecting teeth at its head, used especially to gather leaves or to loosen or smooth earth.

  2. A device that resembles such an implement.

v.   raked, rak·ing, rakes

v.   tr.

  1. To gather or move with or as if with a rake: rake leaves; rake in the gambling chips.

  2. To smooth, scrape, or loosen with a rake or similar implement: rake the soil for planting.

  3. Informal To gain in abundance. Often used with in: a successful company that raked in the profits.

  4. To search or examine thoroughly; ransack.

  5. To scrape; scratch.

  6. To aim heavy gunfire along the length of.

v.   intr.

  1. To use a rake.

  2. To conduct a thorough search: raked through the files for the misplaced letter.

Phrasal Verb(s):
rake upTo revive or bring to light; uncover: rake up old gossip.

Idiom(s):
rake over the coalsTo reprimand severely.

[Middle English, from Old English raca; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
rak'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

rake  (n.1)
"toothed tool," O.E. raca "rake," earlier ræce, from P.Gmc. *rak- "gather, heap up" (cf. O.N. reka "spade, shovel," O.H.G. rehho, Ger. Rechen "rake," Goth. rikan "to heap up, collect"). The verb is attested from c.1250; of gunfire from c.1630.

coal 
O.E. col "charcoal, live coal," from P.Gmc. *kula(n), from PIE base *g(e)u-lo- "live coal." Meaning "mineral consisting of fossilized carbon" is from 1253. First mentioned (370 B.C.E.) by Theophrastus in his treatise "On Stones" under the name lithos anthrakos (see anthrax). Traditionally good luck, coal was given as a New Year's gift in England, said to guarantee a warm hearth for the coming year. The phrase drag (or rake) over the coals was a reference to the treatment meted out to heretics by Christians. To carry coals to Newcastle (1606) Anglicizes Gk. glauk eis Athenas "owls to Athens."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

rake over the coals

Also, 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]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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