talking-to
3
5.8
- noun
- /ˈtɔːkɪŋ tuː/
- Informal
:
reprimenda
- After his poor behavior at the party, his parents gave him a firm talking-to about respecting others.
- a good talking-to
- needs a talking-to
That was a period in my life where I got now I just had to sit and take my talking to.
- That was a period in my life where I got now I just had to sit and take my talking to.
Examples
-
(Don't worry, I gave her a good talking-to about it.)
Blog text (1) -
They also gave me a stern talking-to.
Blog text (27) -
Gave me a right talking to the other night.
-
I'd like to talk to them.
-
I gave him a talking-to.
-
They'll give him a talking-to.
-
I really should give that pup a talking-to.
-
"Zev, you have to give him a talking-to," she said as they drove home.
Fiction book (1993) -
You know, the individuals that I interviewed after giving them a severe talking-to gave me a very nice description of somebody that looks exactly like you.
-
The next day, the teacher gave us a pretty stern talking-to about how she just answered a question about what an orgasm is, and the thing about devoting 15 minutes of class time to orgasms was a lie we shouldn't have told, because now all the parents were upset with her.
Blog text (15)
Synonyms
62
7.0
A short talk telling someone they did something wrong
7
3.3
A strong angry talk that tells someone they did something wrong
1
4.2
A serious scolding from someone like a parent or boss
Antonyms
How Severe
1
6.3
- Formal
24
6.1
22
6.8
- Informal
3
5.8
17
7.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
talking-to = talking (semi-transparent) = to + talk + ing
The compound is built from 'talking' + 'to' and clearly refers to speaking to someone, but the specialized meaning 'a reprimand' is idiomatic and not strictly predictable from the parts. [Postprocessing: moved 'to' from base_words to prefix]
Etymology
Talking-to comes from the simple idea of giving someone a talk to them — a firm 'talk' about their behavior. So a talking-to is a short, serious speech that scolds or warns someone.