ash heap

noun

: a pile or mound of ashes and other waste

—often used figuratively

And the hallowed notion that banks should operate in secrecy … should be tossed on the ash heap of financial history.

—L. J. Davis, Harper's, June 1991

… relegating the old-fashioned station break to the same television ash heap as the variety show, the "Please Stand By" sign and the teatime movie.

—Bill Carter, New York Times, 21 Mar. 1993

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1650, in the meaning defined above

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