clap someone in jail (or irons)
Put someone in prison (or in chains): the ship’s captain had the mutineers clapped in irons...- A cynical immigration official claps James in jail upon his arrival.
- He may as well have clapped me in irons and commenced flogging in front of the herds of law-abiding legal visitors.
- The dissident has said he aims to run for president against 24-year incumbent, although the president clapped him in jail for a lesser act of defiance only a few years ago.
See parent entry: clap