sawdust trail
Americannoun
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the road to conversion or rehabilitation, as for a sinner or criminal.
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Also called sawdust circuit. the itinerary of revival meetings.
Etymology
Origin of sawdust trail
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; so called from the sawdust-covered aisles in the temporary constructions put up for revival meetings
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rather than arriving at faith along the sawdust trail of American evangelicalism, Buechner came via Princeton University and, eventually, Union Theological Seminary.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 22, 2022
Graham took his fellow evangelicals from the margins to the center — from the sawdust trail to the White House.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 21, 2018
The night* he walked the sawdust trail, Graham remembers, others were weeping, and since he was not, he wondered whether his commitment was genuine.
From Time Magazine Archive
Those who have heard the bellow and thump of the sawdust trail could recognize such artistry in Reagan's talk.
From Time Magazine Archive
In spite of the thousands who have hit the sawdust trail, however, it is difficult to believe that more than a tiny proportion of his auditors are religiously affected by him.
From The Invisible Censor by Hackett, Francis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
