to give sb what for en
1give someone what for — informal phrase to punish someone or speak to them severely because they have done something wrong Thesaurus: to punish someonesynonym punishment of being legally killedhyponym Main entry: give * * * …
2give someone what for informal, — give someone what for informal, chiefly Brit. punish or scold someone severely. → give …
3give someone what for — ► give someone what for informal , chiefly Brit. punish or scold someone severely. Main Entry: ↑what …
4give somebody what for — get/give sb what ˈfor idiom (BrE, informal) to be punished/punish sb severely • I ll give her what for if she does that again. Main entry: ↑whatidiom …
5give you what for — lecture you, give you hell If you miss hockey practice, the coach will give you what for …
6give someone what for — Vrb phrs. A severe reprimand. E.g. I ll give you what for if you don t shut your mouth …
7give them what for — give them a lecture, scold them, give you hell After the team lost a game, the coach gave em what for …
8give someone what for — verb To punish; to rebuke. She gave him what for all right. But you could see she was ever so pleased and she went around telling everybody about it. Syn: give someone a piece of ones mind, let someone have it …
9give somebody what-for — verb To admonish or berate; to speak angrily at somebody. He really gave the kid what for about the baseball through his window …
10I'll give you what for! — I ll give (you) what for! informal something that you say when you are very angry with someone and intend to punish them. I ll give you what for, young lady, coming home at 2 o clock in the morning! …
