rend one's garments

Verb

rend one's garments (third-person singular simple present rends one's garments, present participle rending one's garments, simple past and past participle rent one's garments or rended one's garments)

1. (idiomatic) To fret or moan in an excessive or theatrical manner.
   • Yes, my friends, it is amusing to see these new dealers wring their hands and rend their garments on account of the distress of the great army of underprivileged in our country.1938 February 12, J. Will Taylor, “Address at Knocksville, Tenn.”, in Congressional Record: Appendix of the Third Session of the Seventy-Fifth Congress of the United States of America, volume 83...
   • Rosenblatt never sawed the air or rent his garments. When he began his essay, he knew how he meant to end it.1984, James J. Kilpatrick, The Writer’s Art, →ISBN
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rend, garment.