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Glite Dictionary
to box one's ears

to box one's ears

9.9
To hit someone on the side of the head to punish or scold them
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : abofetear
  • Franken was already calling into question his honor, and under the old dispensation, his victim would have been perfectly within his rights to box the man's ears, horsewhip him, or otherwise administer some humiliating physical chastisement.

Examples

  • After his son misbehaved at school, the father decided it was time to box his ears as a form of discipline.

  • In the past, parents sometimes felt compelled to box their children's ears to correct bad behavior.

  • The teacher warned the student that he might box his ears if he continued to disrupt the class.

Antonyms

to reward
328 1.3

To give something to someone to thank them for doing something good

praise
161 1.0

Words or actions that show admiration for someone

How Hard

to beat
  • NSFW
∞ 1.2
to punch
455 1.4
to smack
164 3.5
to box one's ears
  • Offensive
9.9
slap
110 1.0
to tap
174 1.0

Surface Forms

box one's ears infinitive
boxed one's ears past
boxed one's ears past participle
boxing one's ears present participle
boxes one's ears third person singular

Morphology

box + one + ear

The verb phrase is directly compositional: 'box' (here meaning an open-handed blow or to strike) combined with 'one's ears' specifies the location/target of the blow, so the meaning 'to hit someone on the side of the head/ears' can be inferred from the constituents. Although somewhat idiomatic/colloquial in usage, the semantic relation is literal and follows normal agent‑action‑object composition, making it accessible to learners who know the component words.

Etymology

Box one's ears comes from the clear image of a quick slap to the side of someone's head; long ago box was used to mean 'to hit' and the ears show where the blow lands. So the phrase means 'to hit someone as a punishment or reprimand'.