had been birching

• past perfect progressive

  past perfect progressive

  Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.

  of birch.
  birch

  noun

  any tree or shrub of the genus Betula, comprising species with a smooth, laminated outer bark and close-grained wood.

Related Words

• beat up
• clobber
• crush
• defeat
• maul
• overwhelm
• paste
• pummel
• rout
• spank
• trounce
• whip