give someone his gruel
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Perhaps a reference to administering poison.
Verb[edit]
give someone his gruel (third-person singular simple present gives someone his gruel, present participle giving someone his gruel, simple past gave someone his gruel, past participle given someone his gruel)
- (UK, slang, obsolete) To kill or trounce someone.
- 1837, The Gambler's Dream, page 247:
- "Cruel! Cruel! Cruel!" he cried. "Yes, you gave him his gruel hot enough," answered Charlotte.
- 1856, Thomas Ingoldsby, The Ingoldsby Legends: Or, Mirth & Marvels, page 87:
- I have 'barkers' by Nock, Sir,
With percussion locks, Sir,
Will give you your gruel —
hang me if I box, Sir
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary