"read someone the riot act" meaning in English

See read someone the riot act in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-read someone the riot act.ogg [Australia] Forms: reads someone the riot act [present, singular, third-person], reading someone the riot act [participle, present], read someone the riot act [participle, past], read someone the riot act [past]
Etymology: From read the Riot Act. See sense 2. The Riot Act is a historical British Act of Parliament enacted in 1714, which stated that once a statutory warning was read out to rioters and they failed to disperse within one hour, then authorities may use any force to disperse them with impunity. Head templates: {{en-verb|read<,,read> someone the riot act}} read someone the riot act (third-person singular simple present reads someone the riot act, present participle reading someone the riot act, simple past and past participle read someone the riot act)
  1. (idiomatic) To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand. Tags: idiomatic Translations (scold or berate): iemand de les lezen (Dutch), lukea madonluvut (Finnish), chanter la messe en breton (French), rappeler à l’ordre (French), die Leviten lesen (German), dare una lavata di capo (Italian), rimproverare (Italian), устро́ить головомойку (ustróitʹ golovomojku) (Russian), leer la cartilla (Spanish), cantar las cuarenta (Spanish), regañar (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-read_someone_the_riot_act-en-verb-PujEi3BR Disambiguation of 'scold or berate': 82 18
  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. Tags: British, Commonwealth, archaic, historical Related terms: lay down the law, Riot Act
    Sense id: en-read_someone_the_riot_act-en-verb-URehW3xr Categories (other): British English, Commonwealth English, English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 19 81

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for read someone the riot act meaning in English (4.0kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "From read the Riot Act. See sense 2. The Riot Act is a historical British Act of Parliament enacted in 1714, which stated that once a statutory warning was read out to rioters and they failed to disperse within one hour, then authorities may use any force to disperse them with impunity.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "reads someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "reading someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "read someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "read someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "read<,,read> someone the riot act"
      },
      "expansion": "read someone the riot act (third-person singular simple present reads someone the riot act, present participle reading someone the riot act, simple past and past participle read someone the riot act)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She really read him the riot act about his smoking habit."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand."
      ],
      "id": "en-read_someone_the_riot_act-en-verb-PujEi3BR",
      "links": [
        [
          "scold",
          "scold"
        ],
        [
          "berate",
          "berate"
        ],
        [
          "reprimand",
          "reprimand"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "iemand de les lezen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "lukea madonluvut"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "chanter la messe en breton"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "rappeler à l’ordre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "die Leviten lesen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "dare una lavata di capo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "rimproverare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "ustróitʹ golovomojku",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "устро́ить головомойку"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "leer la cartilla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "cantar las cuarenta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "scold or berate",
          "word": "regañar"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Commonwealth English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 81",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act."
      ],
      "id": "en-read_someone_the_riot_act-en-verb-URehW3xr",
      "links": [
        [
          "give",
          "give"
        ],
        [
          "warning",
          "warning"
        ],
        [
          "riotous assembly",
          "riot"
        ],
        [
          "disperse",
          "disperse"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, Commonwealth, archaic, historical) To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "5 95",
          "word": "lay down the law"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "5 95",
          "word": "Riot Act"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "Commonwealth",
        "archaic",
        "historical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-read someone the riot act.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c0/En-au-read_someone_the_riot_act.ogg/En-au-read_someone_the_riot_act.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/En-au-read_someone_the_riot_act.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "read someone the riot act"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From read the Riot Act. See sense 2. The Riot Act is a historical British Act of Parliament enacted in 1714, which stated that once a statutory warning was read out to rioters and they failed to disperse within one hour, then authorities may use any force to disperse them with impunity.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "reads someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "reading someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "read someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "read someone the riot act",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "read<,,read> someone the riot act"
      },
      "expansion": "read someone the riot act (third-person singular simple present reads someone the riot act, present participle reading someone the riot act, simple past and past participle read someone the riot act)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "lay down the law"
    },
    {
      "word": "Riot Act"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She really read him the riot act about his smoking habit."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "scold",
          "scold"
        ],
        [
          "berate",
          "berate"
        ],
        [
          "reprimand",
          "reprimand"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "Commonwealth English",
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English terms with historical senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "give",
          "give"
        ],
        [
          "warning",
          "warning"
        ],
        [
          "riotous assembly",
          "riot"
        ],
        [
          "disperse",
          "disperse"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, Commonwealth, archaic, historical) To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "Commonwealth",
        "archaic",
        "historical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-read someone the riot act.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c0/En-au-read_someone_the_riot_act.ogg/En-au-read_someone_the_riot_act.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/En-au-read_someone_the_riot_act.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "iemand de les lezen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "lukea madonluvut"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "chanter la messe en breton"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "rappeler à l’ordre"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "die Leviten lesen"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "dare una lavata di capo"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "rimproverare"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ustróitʹ golovomojku",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "устро́ить головомойку"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "leer la cartilla"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "cantar las cuarenta"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "scold or berate",
      "word": "regañar"
    }
  ],
  "word": "read someone the riot act"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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