🇪🇸Spanish Source WordCode: ES

dar una paliza

Pronunciation / Transliteration: daɾ ˈu.na paˈli.sa

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Beat the living daylights out of/biːt ðə ˈlɪv.ɪŋ ˈdeɪ.laɪts aʊt ɒv/
verb phraseCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
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🇪🇸 Example Sentence in Spanish:

"Le dieron una paliza tremenda."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb phrase
  1. 1

    To assault or thrash someone severely and mercilessly.

    "He threatened to beat the living daylights out of anyone who touched his bicycle."
  2. 2

    To defeat an opponent overwhelmingly in a contest or game.

    "Our local football team beat the daylights out of the visiting champions."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Originating in 19th-century British colloquial English, this idiom uses hyperbole comparing the physical beating to driving the very life or consciousness out of a person. The variant 'seven bells' likely derives from naval ship's bells struck during watches, implying a thorough and systematic beating.

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