larrup
/'lærʌp/
Definition
- Verb:
- To spank or beat: To strike someone, especially on the buttocks, as a punishment or in a rough manner. This is an informal, somewhat old-fashioned term.
- To defeat soundly: In a broader, figurative sense, it can mean to defeat an opponent thoroughly.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- If you don't behave, I'll have to larrup you! (A parent threatening corporal punishment.)
- The older boy larrupped the bully for picking on his brother. (Describing a physical beating in retaliation.)
- Our team larrupped their rivals in the final match. (Figurative use meaning to defeat decisively.)
Advanced Usage
- The word larrup carries a connotation of old-fashioned, rustic, or vigorous physical action. It is rarely used in formal modern English but may appear in historical fiction or regional dialects.
- It often implies a sense of justice, punishment, or decisive action, rather than random violence.
Variants and Related Words
- Larruping (noun/adj): The act of beating, or something that is exceptionally good or large (slang, rare).
- He gave him a proper larruping. (A beating.)
- That was a larruping great steak! (An impressively large steak.)
Synonyms
- Spank: To slap on the buttocks.
- Thrash: To beat soundly; also to defeat decisively.
- Wallop: To hit forcefully (informal).
- Tan (someone's hide): An idiomatic expression for giving a beating.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- To larrup into (someone): To attack or beat someone vigorously.
- He larrupped into the thief with his walking stick.
- To get a larruping: To receive a beating.
- The mischievous child got a larruping from his father.
Related Idioms
- To give someone a good larruping: A set phrase meaning to administer a thorough beating or spanking.
- The headmaster believed in giving a good larruping to instill discipline.
Verb
-
give a spanking to; subject to a spanking