read someone the riot act

English

Etymology

From read the Riot Act. See sense 2.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Verb

read someone the riot act

1. (idiomatic) To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand.

   She really read him the riot act about his smoking habit.

2. (British, Commonwealth, archaic, historical) To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:reprehend

Translations

scold or berate

• Dutch: iemand de les lezen
• Finnish: lukea madonluvut
• German: jemandem die Leviten lesen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: dare una lavata di capo, rimproverare (it)
• Russian: устро́ить головомойку (ustróitʹ golovomojku)
• Spanish: leer la cartilla (es), cantar las cuarenta, regañar (es)

See also

• lay down the law
• Riot Act