trip to the woodshed

English

Etymology

Probably from the practice of taking a naughty child out of the house, to an outlying structure, for a private spanking.

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

trip to the woodshed (plural trips to the woodshed)

  1. (chiefly US, idiomatic) An occasion on which a reprimand or punishment is administered.
    • 1948, "Sweet Reasonableness," Time, 13 Dec.,
      More than a few of the 3,000 members of the National Association of Manufacturers, gathered for their annual convention in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel last week, felt like small boys worrying about a trip to the woodshed. None knew how vindictive or friendly toward business the Truman Administration would be.
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