Aunt Maude slapped Tony on the wrist when he grabbed a couple of her freshly baked cookies.
•Tony was slapped on the wrist when he tried to swipe some cookies.
2. Fig. to administer only the mildest of punishments to someone. •The judge did nothing but slap the mugger on the wrist.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
slap someone’s wrist — AND slap someone on the wrist tv. to administer a minor reprimand. □ The judge only slapped her wrist. □ The courts only slap them on the wrist and send them back out on the streets … Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions
slap on the wrist — If someone gets a slap on the wrist, they get a very minor punishment when they could have been punished more severely … The small dictionary of idiomes
slap someone on the wrist — Go to slap someone’s wrist … Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions
slap on the wrist — If someone gets a slap on the wrist, they get a very minor punishment when they could have been punished more severely. (Dorking School Dictionary) *** If you get a slap on the wrist, you receive mild punishment, or you are reprimanded … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
a slap on the wrist — REPRIMAND, rebuke, reproof, scolding, admonishment; informal telling off, rap over the knuckles, dressing down; Brit. informal ticking off, wigging; Austral./NZ informal serve. → slap * * * a slap on the wrist … Useful english dictionary
(a) slap on the wrist — a gentle warning or light punishment. I got a slap on the wrist for arriving late again. Usage notes: sometimes used in the form slap someone on the wrist: Instead of firing him, she only slapped him on the wrist … New idioms dictionary
slap — slap1 [ slæp ] verb * 1. ) transitive to hit someone or something quickly with the palm of the hand or a flat object, making a loud noise: Then, with a resounding smack, she slapped Claudia s face. a ) intransitive to hit a surface with a sound… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
slap — [[t]slæ̱p[/t]] slaps, slapping, slapped 1) VERB If you slap someone, you hit them with the palm of your hand. [V n] He would push or slap her once in a while... [V n adv/prep] I slapped him hard across the face... [V n adv/prep] He was slapping a … English dictionary
slap — slap1 S2 [slæp] v past tense and past participle slapped present participle slapping 1.) [T] to hit someone with the flat part of your hand →↑punch ▪ Sarah slapped Aaron across the face. 2.) [T always + adverb/preposition] to put something down… … Dictionary of contemporary English
slap — 1 verb slapped, slapping 1 (T) to hit someone quickly with the flat part of your hand: Do you think it s OK to slap children if they re really rude? | slap sb on the back (=hit them on the back in a friendly way) 2 (transitive always + adv/prep)… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
slap — I UK [slæp] / US verb Word forms slap : present tense I/you/we/they slap he/she/it slaps present participle slapping past tense slapped past participle slapped * 1) a) [transitive] to hit someone or something quickly with the palm of the hand or… … English dictionary
