Throw the book at 'em!
Posted by R Berg on February 25, 2003
In Reply to: Throw the book at em! posted by Ray Jay on February 25, 2003
: Anyone know the origin of the idiom or phrase "Throw the book at em." I realize it means prosecute someone to the fullest extent of the law, a law enforcement term, but does anyone really know where it came from and when it first began being used?
Dictionary of American Slang, 1960 ed., says:
1 To sentence a guilty person to the maximum term of imprisonment. Orig. underworld use. From the image of a judge sentencing a criminal to every penalty found in books of law. --> To penalize, punish, reprimand, or criticize a person severely. Fairly common since c1950.
No time of origin is given for the first meaning.
- (Correcting omission) R. Berg
02/25/03
- Throw the book at 'em masakim 02/25/03
- Throw the book
at 'em ~Riot Act? Robert 02/26/03
- Throw the book at 'em ~Riot Act? Ray Jay 02/27/03
- Throw the book at 'em ~Riot Act? Ray Jay 02/27/03
- Throw the book
at 'em ~Riot Act? Robert 02/26/03
- Throw the book at 'em masakim 02/25/03