telling-offnoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/ˌtel.ɪŋˈɒf/us/ˌtel.ɪŋˈɑːf/plural tellings-off mainly UK informalthe act of speaking angrily to someone because they have done something wrong:
He gave me a good telling-off for forgetting the meeting.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Chastising & rebuking
- admonition
- barracking
- bawl
- be in sb's face idiom
- beat yourself up
- bring
- dressing-down
- jump down sb's throat idiom
- keelhaul
- lambaste
- lay
- neck
- rebuke
- reprimand
- reproachful
- there'll be hell to pay idiom
- throw
- throw the book at sb idiom
- tirade
- upbraid
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