read someone the riot act

短语

发音

AU

词形变化

reading someone the riot act reads someone the riot act 三单 reads someone the riot act reading someone the riot act 现在分词

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

    To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand.

    习语

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

  2. 2.

    To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act.

    古体 历史

词源

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.

来源：wiktionary