dressing-down

Definitions

A reprimand or rarely, a thrashing.

idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“"I'll give⟳ him a dressing down, see⟳ if I don't." Mrs. Mudge's eyes snapped viciously, and she clutched the relics of the broom with a degree of energy which rendered it uncertain what sort⟳ of a dressing down she intended for her husband.”

“When the blacksmith saw⟳ what Babo had done to his mother, he caught him by the collar, and fell to giving him such a dressing down as never man had before.”

“"We must all bow to you, and try⟳ to get⟳ a favorable word, must we? This man shall have⟳ a leg up, and this man shall have⟳ a dressing down!"”

“Just ask⟳ Gen. Yevgeny I. Ignatov, a former mayor of Torzhok, who stepped down two years ago after a dressing-down from the regional governor.”

CEFR level