whale into
whale into (someone or something)
1. To attack or thrash something in an brutal, forceful, or relentless manner. He stood there whaling into the wall with a sledgehammer, but he barely seemed to be making a dent in it. She began whaling into the poor child until a police officer finally intervened. The other team whaled into us for the entire game, leading to one of our most humiliating defeats of the season.
2. To criticize, rebuke, or verbally assault someone or something vehemently or relentlessly. The interviewer suddenly began whaling into the politician over his alleged ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The boss whaled into us for the entirety of the meeting because of our failure to meet our sales quota.
See also: whale
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
whale into (someone or an animal)
Fig. to attack or punish someone or an animal. Jimmy's dad really whaled into him. The sailor whaled into the dog.
See also: whale
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
whale into
v.
To strike or attack something or someone forcefully: The batter whaled into the baseball. The politician whaled into the press for their inaccurate reporting.
See also: whale
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
- whale into (someone or something)
- whale into someone/something
- whale away
- whale away at (someone or something)
- whaling
- wale
- whale on
- whale on (someone or something)
- wail on (someone or something)
- wail on someone