give someone a piece of one's mind

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

give someone a piece of one's mind (third-person singular simple present gives someone a piece of one's mind, present participle giving someone a piece of one's mind, simple past gave someone a piece of one's mind, past participle given someone a piece of one's mind)

1. (idiomatic) To express one's opinion strongly; to voice one's disagreement or dissatisfaction, especially with another person; to scold or rebuke someone.

   Synonym: tell off

   Coordinate term: speak one's mind

   That is the fourth time this week my neighbor's barking dog has woken me up. I'm going to go give her a piece of my mind about it.

   • 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:

     I was nothing but a mass of trembling. As for answering him back, or giving him a piece of my mind, as I had meant to, I wouldn’t have done it not for a thousand pounds.

Translations

to rebuke someone

• Afrikaans: op iemand afklim
• Finnish: (to voice one's dissatisfaction with sth) haukkua pystyyn, haukkua pataluhaksi, sanoa suorat sanat (+ allative), antaa jonkun kuulla kunniansa
• French: dire ses quatre vérités (fr)
• Italian: dirne quattro, cazziare (it), rabbuffare
• Jamaican Creole: cuss off smaddy
• Polish: wygarniać impf, wygarnąć (pl) pf
• Spanish: poner de vuelta y media (colloquial), dar cuatro verdades
• Swedish: ge någon en avhyvling (sv)
• Urdu: کھری کھری سنانا

See also

• peace of mind (not to be confused)