to read sb the riot act
31Riot Act — n. an English law, passed in 1715, providing that if twelve or more persons are unlawfully assembled and disturbing the public peace they must disperse on proclamation (reading the Riot Act) or be held guilty of felony read the riot act to to… …
32riot act — n. stem warning to read the riot act to * * * [ raɪətækt] [ stem warning ] to read the riot act to …
33riot act — noun Etymology: the Riot Act, English law of 1715 providing for the dispersal of riots upon command of legal authority Date: 1819 a vigorous reprimand or warning used in the phrase read the riot act …
34read the riot act — phrasal 1. to order a mob to disperse 2. a. to order or warn to cease something b. to protest vehemently c. to reprimand severely …
35read the riot act — Synonyms and related words: admonish, bring to book, call to account, chastise, chide, correct, have words with, lecture, objurgate, rate, rebuke, reprehend, reprimand, reprove, scold, set down, set straight, spank, straighten out, take down,… …
36read the riot act to — give someone a strict scolding, reprimand strongly …
37read the riot act — Scold at length …
38read — 1 /ri:d/ verb past tense and past participle read /red/ 1 WORDS/BOOKS (I, T) to look at written words and understand what they mean: Tom could read by the time he was four. | read sth: Read the instructions carefully before you start. | I m sorry …
39riot — 1 noun 1 (C) a situation in which a large crowd of people are behaving in a violent and uncontrolled way especially when they are protesting about something: The army were called in to put down the riot. | race riot (=between people of different… …
40riot — ri|ot1 S3 [ˈraıət] n [Date: 1100 1200; : Old French; Origin: quarrel ] 1.) a situation in which a large crowd of people are behaving in a violent and uncontrolled way, especially when they are protesting about something ▪ urban riots ▪ prison… …
