Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to feel the collar

to feel the collar

9.9
Scold someone about their bad behavior
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : reprender
  • If you break the rules, you can expect someone to feel the collar pretty quickly.

Examples

  • The manager didn't hesitate to feel the collar of any employee caught slacking off.

  • After the students got too rowdy, the teacher had to feel the collar of the main troublemaker.

  • Don't feel the collar on this issue!

  • I had to feel the collar after his careless mistake.

  • When the players showed up late to practice, the coach had to feel the collar of a few of them.

  • If any student misbehaves, the principal will feel the collar to ensure they understand the rules.

  • The supervisor was quick to feel the collar of employees who weren't following the safety procedures.

Synonyms

to read the riot act
vsto feel the collar
  • Informal
1 7.9

To scold someone strongly and warn them of punishment

is an informal rebuke that checks behavior without threats
to chap someone's hide
vsto feel the collar
  • Informal
9.3

To scold someone angrily for something they did

is milder and informal rather than angry and severe
to hand you your head
vsto feel the collar
  • UK
9.9

Scold someone very strongly, often in front of others

is a milder informal check focused on correction not harsh punishment

Antonyms

to encourage
∞ 2.3

Give someone support and confidence so they try or keep doing something

to praise
331 1.0

To tell a person that you admire or approve of them

How Severe

to punish
821 1.0
to reprimand
  • Formal
33 6.1
to feel the collar
  • UK
9.9
to warn
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

feel the collar infinitive
felt the collar past
felt the collar past participle
feeling the collar present participle
feels the collar third person singular

Morphology

feel + the + collar

The meaning 'to check or rebuke someone' is not directly derivable from 'feel' (to touch) combined with 'collar' (a neck garment or rarer sense 'to apprehend'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would most likely interpret this literally. The idiomatic sense relies on a less transparent use of 'collar' and an English-specific figurative pattern, making the overall meaning unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Feel the collar may come from the image of someone physically grabbing another person's collar to stop them and show they are in trouble. So, it now means 'to check or scold someone'.