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get medieval

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From get (to become) + medieval (relating to medieval dungeon torture methods); originally merely collocational when attested in the dialogue of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, but the collocation took on the function of a phrasal verb, entering the lexicon as a term for torturing severely, after it went viral as a consequence of the film's popularity.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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get medieval (third-person singular simple present gets medieval, present participle getting medieval, simple past got medieval, past participle gotten medieval or got medieval)

  1. (intransitive, chiefly US, informal) To become sadistically torturous, especially due to vengeful spite.
    • 1990-1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), Miramax, published 1994:
      What now? I'll tell you what now. I'm gonna call a couple of hard pipe hittin' n-ggas to go to work on the homes here with a pair of pliers and a blow-torch. You hear me talkin', hillbilly boy?! I ain't through with you by a damn sight! I'ma get medieval on your ass!

See also

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