trip to the woodshed

a trip to the woodshed

An act or instance of punishment or reproval, especially when done discreetly or privately. He'll be taking a trip to the woodshed when his father hear what he's done. The boss gave me a trip to the woodshed for my failure to secure the Goldblum account.
See also: trip, woodshed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

trip to the woodshed

An instance of being reprimanded or punished.
See also: trip, woodshed
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • a trip to the woodshed
  • woodshed
  • move within earshot
  • pokery
  • jiggery
  • jiggery-pokery
  • some mothers do have them
  • take (one) to the woodshed
  • take someone to the woodshed
  • take to the woodshed
References in periodicals archive
However, this did not prevent him from pushing through an increase in the discount rate in 1965 against the wishes of President Lyndon Johnson--a move that earned him a trip to the woodshed at Johnson's Texas ranch--nor did it preclude him from actively working in tandem with the Johnson Administration to pass the 1968 Tax Surcharge.
Stockman went to the Oval Office for apologies, and the encounter was portrayed as "a trip to the woodshed." Never happened, Stockman revealed years later.
To top it off, in a blustery political season, Hollywood's morals took another trip to the woodshed.
This "clarification" likely will lead to even more legal challenges to the agencies' regulatory authority, and most experts expect a fourth trip to the woodshed for the EPA and the Corps.
Postal Service needs a trip to the woodshed to punish it for relocating hundreds of post offices, out of historic town centers, to sterile, asphalt surrounded lots on the far edge of town (see related story on page 9 in this issue.)
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other GOP congressional leaders had better get ready for a trip to the woodshed.
Instead, he was met with scorn and a trip to the woodshed.