The idiom "rake over the ashes" means to revisit or bring up old and unpleasant memories or issues. It is often used when someone brings up a past event or situation that was difficult or painful to deal with, and they want to discuss it again.
For example, if someone brings up a past argument that was resolved, but still feels unresolved, they might say, "I don't want to rake over the ashes, but I still feel hurt about what happened."
The phrase can also be used to describe someone who is dwelling on the past and not moving forward. For instance, if someone is constantly talking about their ex-partner and the relationship that ended years ago, you might say, "They need to stop raking over the ashes and move on with their life."
In summary, "rake over the ashes" means to revisit or dwell on past events or issues that were difficult or unpleasant, and it is often used to encourage someone to move on from the past and focus on the present.
• Despite the government's efforts to move forward, the opposition party continues to rake over the ashes of the past administration's mistakes.
• I don't want to rake over the ashes of our argument, let's just move on and forget about it.
• After their divorce, they both agreed not to rake over the ashes of their marriage and focus on co-parenting their children.
• Whenever we have a family gathering, my grandma loves to rake over the ashes of her past experiences.
• The company's CEO decided to rake over the ashes of the project to identify the reasons for its failure.
• The writer's memoir rakes over the ashes of her traumatic childhood, providing a raw and honest account of her experiences.