rake (redirected from raking over old coals)

be as thin as a rake (British, American & Australian, mainly American)

to be very thin. He eats like a horse and yet he's as thin as a rake. She's as thin as a rail from all that running.

See also: thin

muck-raking (informal)

the activity of trying to discover unpleasant information about people so that you can tell the public. These reports are nothing but muck-raking - journalists should not be allowed to investigate ministers' private business dealings.

rake over the ashes

to think about or to talk about unpleasant events from the past. There is no point in raking over the ashes now, you did what you thought was right at the time.

See also: over

rake over the coals

to talk about unpleasant things from the past that other people would prefer not to talk about. There's no point in raking over the coals - all that happened twenty years ago, and there's nothing we can do about it now. (usually in continuous tenses)

See also: coal, over

a rake-off (informal)

a share of the profits of something, often taken in a way that is not honest. Corrupt customs officers were taking a rake-off from import taxes.

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rake in something

to receive something valuable in large amounts. University graduate students continued to rake in awards and honors this year.

Usage notes: often used about money: The fund-raiser raked in more than $23 million for the party.We were raking it in after the Times ran a review saying we were “the best.”