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wale the tar out of you

Posted by RRC on May 20, 2008 at 14:51

In Reply to: Whale the tar out of you posted by ESC on May 20, 2008 at 08:06:

: : I'm in my 60's. My Dad was born in England, was Welsh, and used the phrase, "I'm going to wail (whale) the tar out of you." Meaning either my sister or I were going to get punished if we didn't stop doing something, or if we were doing something wrong.

: Heard that in West Virginia too.

The spelling is wale. From Merriam Webster:
"to mark (as the skin) with welts"

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