read someone the riot act

From read the Riot Act. See sense 2. The Riot Act is a historical British Act of Parliament enacted in 1714, which stated that once a statutory warning was read out to rioters and they failed to disperse within one hour, then authorities may use any force to disperse them with impunity.

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read someone the riot act (third-person singular simple present reads someone the riot act, present participle reading someone the riot act, simple past and past participle read someone the riot act)

1. (idiomatic) To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand.

   She really read him the riot act about his smoking habit.

2. (British, Commonwealth, archaic, historical) To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act.

• See also Thesaurus:reprehend

• lay down the law
• Riot Act