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hairdryer treatment

British

noun

informal (esp in sport) the practice of shouting at someone at close quarters in order to express one's displeasure at something he or she has done

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hairdryer treatment

C21: from the supposed similarity between this experience and having a hot hairdryer too close to one's head

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But leading a side is about more than being able to deliver the hairdryer treatment, and Muscat has shown he can win in three different countries.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

I can't imagine the sensitive Mark Wigglesworth - the current musical director of the ENO - gives either his orchestra or chorus the hairdryer treatment, but they certainly up their game for him.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2016

Ferguson was famous for giving players the "hairdryer treatment" but admitted he got calmer as he got older.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2015

Gerard Piqué has revealed it was Roy Keane rather than Sir Alex Ferguson and the infamous hairdryer treatment that struck fear into him during his four-year spell at Manchester United.

From The Guardian • Oct. 2, 2014

Facing him across the dispatch box must be like having Sir Alex Ferguson give you the hairdryer treatment at a range of two inches.

From The Guardian • May 14, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023