belt out

belt out idiom
  1. Knock unconscious; beat up, trounce; murder. For example, The police officer was accused of belting out the teenager before taking him to the station, or The hold-up man belted out the storekeeper and fled with the money. This expression originated in boxing. [Slang; c. 1940]
  2. Sing or play music very loudly, as in She belted out the national anthem before every game. [Colloquial; c. 1950]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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