on the carpet
(of a topic or problem) under discussion
(of a person) being severely reprimanded by someone in authority – Informal
Carpet in both these senses originally meant table covering and referred to the carpet of the council table - a table around which a problem was debated or before which a person would be summoned for reprimand. The informal use of carpet as a verb meaning reprove dates from mid 19th century.
Related Idioms :
a magic carpet
a means of sudden and effortless travel
In fairy tales, a magic carpet is able to transport a person sitting on it to any place they desire.
sweep something under the carpet
hide or ignore a problem or difficulty in the hope that it will be forgotten.
1996 - Iain Pears - Death & Restoration - Many others would merely have swept all our problems under the carpet and left them until they became too difficult to solve.
on the carpet :
on the carpet To HOME PAGE
Idioms Index – Previous Page