throw the book at someone
throw the book at (one)
1. To apply all possible criminal charges to a lawbreaker; to impose the maximum possible punishment or jail sentence against a convicted criminal. After his third offense, the judge threw the book at the criminal, making parole all but an impossibility.
2. To punish or reprimand someone as severely as possible. The disciplinary board threw the book at him for the derogatory tirade he leveled at his employees.
See also: book, throw
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
throw the book at someone
If a person in authority throws the book at someone who has committed an offence, they punish them severely. The prosecutor is urging the judge to throw the book at Green. `If this is found to be true then we will throw the book at the clubs involved,' Barry Smart, the chairman of the league, said yesterday. Note: This expression refers to a book in which laws are written down.
See also: book, someone, throw
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
throw the book at someone
tv. [for the police] to charge someone with everything possible; [for a judge] to find someone guilty of everything possible. (As if one were being charged with violating all the laws in a law book.) The judge wanted to throw the book at Joel Cairo, but the prosecutor convinced him to go easy in hope that Cairo would lead them to Mr. Gutman.
See also: book, someone, throw
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- throw the book at
- throw the book at (one)
- throw the book at somebody
- stool pigeon
- stoolie
- a stool pigeon
- set a thief to catch a thief
- bum rap
- bum-rap
- condemn (someone) to (something)