lower the boom on

Idioms  

1. Scold harshly or punish severely; also, put a stop to something. For example, If you're caught smoking in school, the principal is bound to lower the boom on you, or The new radar equipment enabled the police to lower the boom on speeding. This expression refers to the boom of a sailboat—a long spar that extends from the mast to hold the foot of the sail. In a changing wind, the boom can swing wildly, leaving one at risk of being struck. [Slang; first half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Any time authorities lower the boom on credit-repair firms that allegedly cross the line into predatory practices, that’s a good thing.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2019

Why wouldn’t the county lower the boom on those who harbor bed bugs?

From Washington Times • Dec. 15, 2015

It is time the media to lower the boom on the Mariners.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2012

The critic Dwight Macdonald liked to lower the boom on academic books, especially biographies, that he called “lumbering dinosaurs with brains the size of a teacup.”

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2011

He personally conducted only those cases that would give him ironclad publicity; he preferred to lower the boom on a lighter charge than chance an acquittal.

From The Fourth R by Smith, George Oliver