put someone's lights out

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

put someone's lights out (third-person singular simple present puts someone's lights out, present participle putting someone's lights out, simple past and past participle put someone's lights out)

1. (idiomatic) To cause someone to become unconscious, especially by striking him or her.
   • 1981 September 16, “More than 300 million to see THE fight tonight”, in Beaver County Times, retrieved 12 November 2015, page C1:

     "He's taken an awful lot of punches in his last few fights and if Thomas hits him like that, he'll put his lights out. It'll be like a blackout."

   • 1984 August 28, Bert Rosenthal, “Hagler looks forward to Garden visit”, in Kentucky New Era, retrieved 12 November 2015, page C1:

     "The last time I fought Mustafa, I just wanted to give him a beating. . . . This time, I want to put his lights out."

   • 1996 December 31, Bill Copeland, “True love is where you find it”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, retrieved 12 November 2015, page 4E:

     [H]e knew every trick in the books, combatwise, and "could put your lights out with a simple sustained pressure on a carotid nerve."

Synonyms

• knock (someone) out

See also

• punch someone's lights out