to put foot to ass
- idiom
- Offensive
:
dar una patada en el culo
- The coach wasn't afraid to put foot to ass after the disappointing loss.
Examples
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Sometimes you need to put foot to ass when people aren't doing their jobs.
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If the team doesn't improve, the manager will put foot to ass to get results.
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Don't make me put foot to ass!
-
Just put foot to ass!
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To improve productivity, the supervisor decided to put foot to ass and remind everyone of the deadlines.
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When the new employee was not meeting expectations, his boss had to put foot to ass to encourage better performance.
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After noticing the team slacking off, the leader felt it was time to put foot to ass and address the issue head-on.
Synonyms
45
9.0
To beat or punish someone very badly
12
8.1
Make someone do what they promised or take responsibility by pressuring them
8
8.3
To force someone to do something by threatening them
3
7.6
Make someone or something obey after they resist
1
9.9
To defeat someone completely, often physically or in a game, used in rude speech
To yell at or threaten someone to make them try harder
To angrily tell someone they did something wrong, often in front of others
To keep asking someone to do something all the time in an annoying, pushy way
To attack or criticize someone who is already in trouble
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal constituents (put + foot + ass) clearly evoke placing a foot against someone's butt, so a B1 learner who knows the words can infer a forceful physical action aimed at moving or disciplining someone. However, the expression's conventionalized, vulgar pragmatic meaning ('force or motivate someone to act' rather than a literal placement) and its register are not fully predictable without exposure, making it partially transparent.
Etymology
Put foot to ass may come from the clear image of someone putting a foot to another person's ass to push or kick them into motion. So, it now means 'to take strong action' or 'to force someone to act'.