read a

read (one) a lecture

To scold, reprimand, or reprove someone severely for an error or mistake. I was read a lecture by my boss last week for messing up the accounting software. I know Mary messed up, but there was no need to read her a lecture for it.
See also: lecture, read

read (one) a lesson

To scold, reprimand, or reprove someone severely for an error or mistake. I was read a lesson by my boss last week for messing up the accounting software. I know Mary messed up, but there was no need to read her a lesson for it.
See also: lesson, read
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

read a

lecture/lesson
To issue a reprimand: My parents read me a lecture because I had neglected my chores.
See also: read
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • read (one) a lecture
  • read a lecture
  • read (one) a lesson
  • read (one) the riot act
  • read (someone) the riot act
  • read the riot act
  • riot
  • drag (one) over the coals
  • haul (someone) over the coals
  • haul someone over the coals
References in classic literature
You can do as you please, but I shall keep my book on the table here and read a little every morning as soon as I wake, for I know it will do me good and help me through the day."
Little Women
B read A's work with a strange mixture of dread and expectation.
The Auster instance: a ficto-biography
If one's true degree of conviction about something is most accurately reflected in high-stakes decisions about it --for example, (supposedly) no atheists in foxholes--then the reticence of Christian parents to follow A may be read as a candid indication of their lack of conviction about the truth of Christianity's faith-based soteriological claims.
The Idiot's Guide to Salvation