📚“Read the riot act”
✍🏾Meaning: To reprimand someone for behaving badly, with the intention of improving that person’s behavior
🔺Example: Taylor was being too loud in class, so I read her the riot act.
Origin: This idiom most likely comes from the real Riot Act, an act passed by the British government in 1714 to prevent unruly assemblies. In the 18th century King George I and the government were fearful of being overthrown by supporters of the previous Stuart dynasty. If crowds of more than 12 assembled, authorities could read them a portion of the Riot Act, upon which they must leave or be imprisoned. Thus, if someone is behaving in a manner that we find inappropriate, we “read them the riot act,” intending to get the unruly person to stop what they’re doing.
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