haul someone over the coals
English · Thesaurus
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haul someone over the coals
Where it comes from
In reference to a punishment once meted out to heretics.
verb hauls someone over the coals · hauling someone over the coals · hauled someone over the coals
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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.
Similar: berate, give someone a dressing down, give someone a telling off, pull someone over the coals, rake over the coals, read someone the riot act, scold, tear a strip off someone, tear someone a new asshole, tear someone a new one, tell off, tell someone off
Talk about this word "haul someone over the coals." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/haul%20someone%20over%20the%20coals. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. haul someone over the coals. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/haul%20someone%20over%20the%20coals "haul someone over the coals." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/haul%20someone%20over%20the%20coals.Cite this
@misc{haul_someone_over_the_coals_2026,
title = {haul someone over the coals},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/haul%20someone%20over%20the%20coals},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
