trip to the woodshed

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Probably derived from the previous term "horseshedding," meaning to take a person privately (such as to a horse shed or woodshed, separate buildings away from the house) for private cajoling or reprimand.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Noun[edit]

trip to the woodshed (plural trips to the woodshed)

  1. (chiefly US, idiomatic) An occasion on which a reprimand or punishment is administered privately.
    • 1948 December 13, “Sweet Reasonableness”, in Time:
      More than a few of the 3,000 members of the National Association of Manufacturers, gathered for their annual convention in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel last week, felt like small boys worrying about a trip to the woodshed. None knew how vindictive or friendly toward business the Truman Administration would be.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ On Language By William Safire: Woodshed Blues”, in The New York Times[1], December 13, 1981, retrieved 8 November 2020, page 16