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.

Example Sentences

They practically draw and quarter the opening movement’s first and second themes, introducing or elaborating on them with scratchy, rough-hewed accents.

From New York Times

Grandma always was threatening to skin someone alive, or draw and quarter him, or scalp him like a red Indian, or spank him till his bottom blistered.

From Literature

Bottom line: even if we draw and quarter the iPhone franchise across every major metric, Apple is still worth more than the market price.

From Forbes

If one of her children behaved like that, she would absolutely hang, draw and quarter them, she says.

From The Guardian

"If we started sharing our customers' e-mail addresses, they would draw and quarter us," he says.

From Inc