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Glite Dictionary
to beat the daylights out of

to beat the daylights out of

1 8.6
To hit someone or something very hard and damage it
  • phrasal verb
  • /biːt ðə ˈdeɪlaɪts aʊt ʌv/
  • Offensive
translation icon : dar una paliza a
  • The angry coach threatened to beat the daylights out of any player who didn't follow the game plan.

Examples

  • Scrub it up before Bone beats the daylights out of you.

    Unconquered (1947)

  • As the day went on, I kept kicking Abdelqader out of my room until Allal, in an attempt to show me he would discipline his son for doing wrong, started beating the daylights out of him for not listening to me.

    Blog text (22)

  • This is a guy who ended up in court for beating the daylights out of Jason Stollsteimer and was handed a fine and a spell of anger management classes all because he wasn't given the credit he felt he deserved (apparently).

    Blog text (9)

  • After the fight, he felt as if someone had beaten the daylights out of him, both physically and mentally.

  • He was so furious that he was ready to beat the daylights out of anyone who insulted his family.

Synonyms

to hit
vsto beat the daylights out of
∞ 1.0

To strike someone or something with force

is slangier and emphasizes severe, often destructive, violence
to strike
vsto beat the daylights out of
553 2.4

To hit someone or something with force

is more idiomatic and stresses extreme violent harm
to beat up
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
271 4.1

To attack someone by hitting them again and again to hurt them

is more colloquial and focuses on complete severe harm
to whack
vsto beat the daylights out of
250 5.5

To hit someone or something hard so it makes a loud sound

is more vulgar slang focusing on excessive, damaging force
to smack
vsto beat the daylights out of
164 3.5

To hit someone or something with an open hand

is cruder slang that stresses extreme injury or destruction
to bash
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • NSFW
73 2.9

To hit someone or something very hard

is phrased as stronger slang highlighting violent destruction
to knock out
vsto beat the daylights out of
64 3.8

To break or remove something by force, often by hitting it

is more colloquial and stresses violent physical harm to people
to bashing
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • NSFW
57 3.2

To hit something or someone hard and repeatedly

is more colourful slang stressing severe or total harm
to beat the shit out of
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
53 9.9

To hurt or defeat someone very badly, often by hitting them

is similar but serves as broader slang for severe damage
to bludgeon
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • NSFW
23 8.8

To hit someone repeatedly with a heavy stick or club

is more colloquial and focuses on savage, total destruction
to beat to a pulp
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
15 7.6

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt or win against them very clearly

is broader slang focusing on total ruin rather than only injury
to bash in
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • NSFW
13 7.5

Hit something hard so it breaks or opens

is more idiomatic and stresses complete physical ruin
to slug
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Informal
10 4.6

To hit someone or something very hard, often with the fist

is more extreme slang focusing on severe sustained harm
to thrash
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • NSFW
7 6.5

Hit someone hard, often as punishment or in a fight

is more informal and stresses extreme damage or destruction
to strike hard
vsto beat the daylights out of
3 3.7

Hit someone or something very hard

is more informal speech stressing total severe damage
to wallop
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Informal
2 7.3

To hit something or someone very hard

is more informal and implies extreme, often lasting, damage
to beat the stuffing out of
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
1 9.0

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt

is more slangy and stresses total physical destruction
to beat someone's brains out
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
1 9.4

To work very hard or to threaten to hit someone

is slang that focuses on violent physical harm and destruction
to beat someone's ass
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To defeat someone completely, often physically or in a game, used in rude speech

is more violent slang stressing severe physical beating rather than just defeat
to smash someone's face in
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
1 9.8

Hit someone in the face very hard to hurt them

is more general slang emphasizing overall severe damage
to beat the poop out of
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
9.6

Hit someone many times so they become badly hurt

is wider slang that emphasises utter destruction or ruin
to knock the living daylights out of
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
9.9

To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much

is more direct slang stressing violent physical destruction
to bash someone's face in
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • NSFW
9.9

To hit someone's face very hard to hurt them

is rougher slang stressing extreme repeated physical beating
to smash the head
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
8.8

Hit a person's head very hard and cause serious injury

is broader slang that emphasises total destructive force
to punch someone's lights out
vsto beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
9.8

Hit someone very hard so they are knocked out

is slangier and highlights prolonged or complete physical ruin

Antonyms

to spare
77 3.5

Decide not to hurt someone even though you could

How Hard

to beat the daylights out of
  • Offensive
1 8.6
to beat
  • NSFW
∞ 1.2
to punch
455 1.4
to smack
164 3.5
to hit
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

beat the daylights out of infinitive
beat the daylights out of past
beaten the daylights out of past participle
beating the daylights out of present participle
beats the daylights out of third person singular

Morphology

beat + the + daylights + out + of

The verb 'beat' clearly denotes hitting, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the phrase involves severe physical hitting. However, 'the daylights' is an idiomatic intensifier and the phrase's imagery is metaphorical and fixed, so the exact meaning is not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Beat the daylights out of may come from an old image where to beat someone until the daylights, the light inside them or their senses, go out. So it came to mean 'to hit someone very hard' or 'to severely damage' something.