give someone a speaking to
To scold a person.
When she comes home I will certainly be giving her a speaking to about breaking curfew.
speaking
UK /ˈspiː.kɪŋ/ US /ˈspi.kɪŋ/
adj 5noun 3intj 1
Collocations
5ADJ.
awful, better, foreign, hard, live, longer, normal, public
My French is terrible, but speaking foreign languages gets easier with practice.
VERB + SPEAKING
get, hear, save
I heard speaking coming from the next room so I went to check.
SPEAKING + NOUN
ability, americans, boys, climate, countenance, french, girls, japanese
Her speaking ability improved dramatically after she took the public speaking course last year.
PREP.
from, in, in, on, than, up, without
Generally speaking, I prefer coffee in the morning than tea.
ADV.
generally
Generally speaking, most people prefer to work from home at least one day a week.
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