talking-to

• talking to

From talking +‎ to.

talking-to (plural talkings-to)

1. (colloquial) A scolding or reprimand; a lengthy rebuke.
   • 1975, Bob Dylan, “You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go”, in Blood on the Tracks:

     Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m doin’
     Stayin’ far behind without you
     Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m sayin’
     Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin’ to

   • 1982 August, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; 3), London: Pan Books, →ISBN, page 55:

     Then all three would go off in search of the first, give it a good talking to and maybe a bit of a sing as well.

   • 2025 May 5, Brock Colyar, “It Must Be Nice to Be a West Village Girl”, in New York‎^[1], archived from the original on 19 May 2025:

     In the afternoons, on her way to Sant Ambroeus, Vernon occasionally passes Carrie’s stoop to give the influencers a talking-to: “I say to them, ‘Excuse me, is that your property? That’s actually trespassing.’ ”