to light someone's ass up
- phrasal verb
- /laɪt ˈsʌmˌwʌnz æs ʌp/
- Offensive
:
echar la bronca a
- Don't light her ass up in front of everyone!
Examples
-
The teacher threatened to light their ass up if they didn’t stop talking.
-
She really lit his ass up after finding out about the missed deadline.
-
If you mess up the presentation, the manager will light your ass up in front of everyone.
-
Why did you light his ass up during the meeting?
-
The coach was furious and decided to light someone's ass up after the team's poor performance.
-
When he found out about the mistake, he didn't hesitate to light his assistant's ass up in front of everyone.
-
During the meeting, the manager lit Sam's ass up for failing to meet the deadline.
Synonyms
71
5.6
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
55
2.2
Speak angrily to someone who has done something wrong
37
8.1
To scold someone very strongly for something they did
15
7.3
To severely criticize someone or something
7
8.9
To speak angrily to someone for a long time
5
8.3
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
4
7.9
Scold someone very strongly for a mistake
3
6.3
To angrily tell someone they did something wrong
1
8.1
To scold or punish someone angrily for something they did wrong
1
8.7
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
1
7.9
To scold someone strongly and warn them of punishment
1
8.6
To scold someone very strongly for a mistake
1
9.9
To attack or punish someone suddenly and violently, often for something they did
1
6.8
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
To punish someone very harshly, often by hitting or scolding them
To scold someone angrily for something they did
To yell at or threaten someone to make them try harder
To tell someone angrily that you do not like what they did
To criticize someone angrily using harsh words
Antonyms
How Harsh
- Informal
4
7.4
- Offensive
36
7.2
- Formal
33
6.1
55
2.2
- Informal
13
4.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to scold or reprimand someone forcefully' cannot be directly derived from the literal meanings of 'light' (set on fire/illuminate), 'ass' (butt) and 'up' — the phrase relies on slangy, metaphorical imagery. Because it is idiomatic and potentially ambiguous (can also imply violent attack/‘shoot’ in other contexts) a B1 learner knowing the parts would not reliably infer the intended meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase light someone's ass up may come from the image of someone being suddenly 'lit', as if set on fire or attacked, so the verb light suggests a fierce attack on the person. So this strong picture became a way to say 'to scold or reprimand someone forcefully'.