haul someone over the coals

In reference to a punishment once meted out to heretics.

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haul someone over the coals (third-person singular simple present hauls someone over the coals, present participle hauling someone over the coals, simple past and past participle hauled someone over the coals)

1. (chiefly UK, idiomatic) To express anger with someone in no uncertain terms when they do something wrong.

   The teacher hauled him over the coals for not doing his homework.

• berate
• give someone a dressing down
• give someone a telling off
• pull someone over the coals
• rake someone over the coals
• read someone the riot act
• scold
• tell someone off
• tear a strip off someone
• tear someone a new one
• tear someone a new asshole