lay into

lay into idiom
  1. Attack physically, The boys ganged up and laid into Bobby.
  2. Scold vigorously, as in The teacher laid into her aide when she learned he had left the children alone in the schoolyard. [Early 1800s] Also see pitch into.

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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