throw the book at

idiom

informal

: to punish (someone) as severely as possible

The judge threatened to throw the book at him if he committed another offense.

Examples of throw the book at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The only way forward is to throw the book at Manchester City, to dock dozens of points from the team, and relegate it to England’s second division, as happened to Italian side Juventus during the Calciopoli scandal. —

Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 8 Feb. 2023 And if the New York Times’s sources are correct, the Justice Department will throw the book at him with a litany of charges ranging from conspiracy to securities fraud to money laundering to wire fraud. —

Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 13 Dec. 2022 But before that can happen, a judge needs to throw the book at Gov. Whitmer. —

Jimmy E. Greene, WSJ, 21 July 2022 Becker’s 10 articles of impeachment, which haven’t been formally introduced yet, attempt to throw the book at DeWine, listing just about every grievance conservatives have lodged about the governor’s coronavirus response. —

Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 24 Aug. 2020

Dictionary Entries Near throw the book at

throw stick

throw the book at

throw/toss one's hat in/into the ring

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“Throw the book at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throw%20the%20book%20at. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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