Meaning
To punish or charge someone as severely and comprehensively as possible - originally of courts applying every available charge and the maximum sentence. Now often loosened to mean rebuking or penalizing someone harshly for any offence, rule breach or professional violation. Almost always constructed with 'at' plus the offender ('throw the book at him'). Informal; vivid and slightly jokey even when the punishment being described is serious. Regional use: American English in origin; now General English.
Origin
American slang of the early 20th century. Green's Dictionary of Slang explains 'the book' as the book of rules the offender has contravened, arising in a legal context, and its earliest citation is George Bronson-Howard's novel Enemy to Society (1911): 'the judges and all git very moral; throw the book at you and tell you to add up the sentences in it.' Green's records a family of variants - chuck, shy, sling and toss the book at, drop the book on - from 1916 onward, and a 1932 prison memoir has 'they'll throw the whole book at him and bury him for life.' Merriam-Webster's current definition is simply 'to punish (someone) as severely as possible.' The extended, non-judicial use (sports federations, employers, internet platforms) is later and informal.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- chuck the book at
- sling the book at
- throw the whole book at
- toss the book at
Usage Examples
- Because he was speeding on a suspended licence, the judge threw the book at him.
- After the third doping violation in two seasons, the federation threw the book at the cycling team.
- Upload one unlicensed music clip and the platform's lawyers will throw the book at you.