sawdust trail

American  

noun

1. the road to conversion or rehabilitation, as for a sinner or criminal.

2. Also called sawdust circuit.  the itinerary of revival meetings.

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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

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

He loves the sawdust trail and conducts a road-show crusade about once a month.

From Time Magazine Archive

Were the thousands who hit the sawdust trail much different from what they were before they hit?

From Time Magazine Archive

Nothing is more vain than to give a promotion, or any reward, in the hope, or on the promise, that the character who receives it will hit the sawdust trail and suddenly reform.

From The Armed Forces Officer Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-2 by United States. Dept. of Defense