clean someone's clock
English · Thesaurus
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clean someone's clock
Where it comes from
From clean (“to thrash, defeat”) and clock (“face”) as metonym for “guy”, “someone”.
verb cleans someone's clock · cleaning someone's clock · cleaned someone's clock
-
To defeat someone decisively, in a physical fight or other competition or negotiation.
"When big business goes head to head with unions, the unions clean their clock," said one Republican aide in Congress.
Similar: fix someone's clock, trounce, wipe the floor with someone
Translations
Every language
verb defeat decisively
| Français | battre à plate couture |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | καθαρίζω κάποιον σαν αβγό katharízo kápoion san avgó |
| Русский | разде́лать под оре́х razdélatʹ pod oréx, разма́зать по сте́нке razmázatʹ po sténke |
Talk about this word "clean someone's clock." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clean%20someone's%20clock. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. clean someone's clock. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clean%20someone's%20clock "clean someone's clock." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clean%20someone's%20clock.Cite this
@misc{clean_someone_s_clock_2026,
title = {clean someone's clock},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clean%20someone's%20clock},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
