draw and quarter

Idioms and Phrases

Punish severely, as in Mom'll draw and quarter me if even one scratch appears on her new car . This expression alludes to two brutal forms of execution practiced in the past. In one the victim was drawn by a horse to a gallows, hanged, and then cut into four pieces and scattered; in the other the victim was hanged, disemboweled while still alive ( drawn ), and then beheaded and dismembered. In both the victim was said to be hanged, drawn, and quartered . Today the term is usually used hyperbolically.