throw the book at somebody

phraseC2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To throw the book at somebody is to punish them with every charge available. They threw the book at him.

The book is the whole body of law rather than any particular one. Prosecutors throw the book at somebody they want to make an example of.

Definitions of throw the book at somebody

1phrasethrow the book at somebodyTo punish somebody with every charge available.C2
“The court decided to throw the book at somebody who had done it three times.”

throw the book at somebody is a phrase.

Practised in Idioms