speaking to
62
7.0
- noun
- Informal
:
regaño
- She received a firm speaking to for being late to class too many times.
Examples
-
The teacher gave the student a speaking to after he was caught cheating on the test.
-
After the incident, he knew he was due for a speaking to from his supervisor.
-
"Do you want to go this year?" she said, speaking to me over her shoulder.
Fiction book (1990) -
Would you please do me the courtesy of looking at me when I'm speaking to you?
-
At dinner that night, I realized my parents weren't speaking to each other.
Fiction book (2000) -
Now, the first time I spoke to Quincy, I was getting reprimanded.
-
Mr McCall, are you not speaking to me because you're mad at me?
Synonyms
184
4.8
A long talk that tells someone they did wrong
7
3.3
A strong angry talk that tells someone they did something wrong
3
5.8
A firm telling someone they did something wrong
1
4.2
A serious scolding from someone like a parent or boss
Antonyms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
speaking + to
The noun sense 'a reprimand' is derivable from the idea of someone 'speaking to' another in order to rebuke them, so there is a clear relation to the constituents. However the nominalized, idiomatic use ('a speaking-to'/'a talking-to') relies on a pragmatically specialized sense of 'speak to' (and is informal/British), which is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings of 'speaking' and 'to'.
Etymology
Speaking to comes from the simple image of someone speaking to you — a parent, teacher, or boss giving a serious talk to correct your behaviour. So, the phrase came to mean 'a reprimand' or 'a telling-off'.