breast-beating [brest-bee-ting] EXAMPLES|WORD ORIGIN noun a loud and demonstrative display of grief, remorse, or the like: The authorities indulged in a great deal of breast-beating about traffic accidents but failed to pass new driving laws. adjective characterized by or involving breast-beating. Liberaldictionary.com
Origin of breast-beating First recorded in 1950–55 Related formsbreast-beat·er, noun Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for breast-beating Contemporary Examples of breast-beating
The fact that Jewish youths behaved like this should scare even our breast-beating nationalist leaders into some soul searching.
Violence and Discourse: A Response to Yousef Munayer
Don Futterman
August 30, 2012
Historical Examples of breast-beating
Breast-beating is as solitary as any other form of masturbation.
Edgar Pangborn
Red-Eye abruptly ceased his breast-beating and tooth-grinding, and ran across the timber-jam to the shore.
Jack London