rfc|Are the 2 senses given here sufficiently distinct? The example sentence for defn1 would work just fine for defn2 as well. -- User:WikiPedant|WikiPedant? 13:50, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
English
Verb
tell off
- idiom To speak to someone rudely, disrespectfully or angrily; to berate; to unleash one's fury verbally towards someone.
#:You should have heard her in there, telling off the guy whose fault it was!
#context|UK|idiom To rebuke, reprimand, or admonish.
Synonyms
give somebody a piece of one's mind
give somebody what-for
read somebody the riot act
scold
Translations
trans-top|to speak to somebody rudely, disrespectfully or angrily
Finnish: haukkua, läksyttää
trans-mid
trans-bottom
References
OED
fr:tell off
it:tell off
pt:tell off
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