"wear sackcloth and ashes" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "From the Bible Book of Esther 4:1 \"When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly\".",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wears sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wearing sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wore sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "worn sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "wear<,,wore,worn> sackcloth and ashes"
      },
      "expansion": "wear sackcloth and ashes (third-person singular simple present wears sackcloth and ashes, present participle wearing sackcloth and ashes, simple past wore sackcloth and ashes, past participle worn sackcloth and ashes)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "to publicly express regret for something done wrong."
      ],
      "id": "en-wear_sackcloth_and_ashes-en-verb-uGKQZ09p",
      "links": [
        [
          "express",
          "express"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) to publicly express regret for something done wrong."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "eat crow"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
          "word": "klæde sig i sæk og aske"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
          "word": "pukeutua säkkiin ja tuhkaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
          "word": "caith sacéadach agus luaithreach"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
          "word": "cospargersi il capo di cenere"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
          "word": "posypać sobie głowę popiołem"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "posypátʹ gólovu péplom",
          "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "посыпа́ть го́лову пе́плом"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "wear sackcloth and ashes"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From the Bible Book of Esther 4:1 \"When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly\".",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wears sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wearing sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wore sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "worn sackcloth and ashes",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "wear<,,wore,worn> sackcloth and ashes"
      },
      "expansion": "wear sackcloth and ashes (third-person singular simple present wears sackcloth and ashes, present participle wearing sackcloth and ashes, simple past wore sackcloth and ashes, past participle worn sackcloth and ashes)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "eat crow"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "to publicly express regret for something done wrong."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "express",
          "express"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) to publicly express regret for something done wrong."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
      "word": "klæde sig i sæk og aske"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
      "word": "pukeutua säkkiin ja tuhkaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
      "word": "caith sacéadach agus luaithreach"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
      "word": "cospargersi il capo di cenere"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
      "word": "posypać sobie głowę popiołem"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "posypátʹ gólovu péplom",
      "sense": "to publicly express regret for something done wrong",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "посыпа́ть го́лову пе́плом"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wear sackcloth and ashes"
}