sock it to
Deliver a physical blow, forceful comment, or reprimand to, as in The judge often socks it to the jury in a murder case. This idiom uses sock in the sense of “strike hard.” It is also put as an imperative, as in Sock it to them, kid! or Sock it to me!, which is sometimes used to give encouragement but can also have sexual overtones. [Second half of 1800s]
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
contend, squabble, disagree, quibble, dispute, quarrel, pettifog, rehash, bandy, hash, bicker, sass, buck, jump, cross, wrangle, hassle, battle, row, hammer
Nearby words
- sociosexual,
- sociotechnological,
- sock,
- sock away,
- sock in,
- sock lining,
- sock puppet,
- sock suspender,
- sockdolager,
- sockdologer
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.