give someone grief
To hassle or abuse someone.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My brother likes to give me grief about my messy room.”
“The manager started to give the new employee grief for arriving five minutes late to the shift.”
“Despite his best efforts to complete the project on time, his supervisor continued to give him grief regarding the minor errors in the final report.”
- 01
as if someone owns the place
Alternative form of like someone owns the place.
- 02
beat someone round the ears
To beat (a person) with blows about the head.
- 03
bless someone with
To give or bestow, as a gift from God.
- 04
bring someone to their knees
To defeat and make submit to orders.
- 05
call someone every name in the book
To call someone many abusive names.
- 06
call someone everything but a child of God
To call someone many abusive names.
- 07
catch someone napping
To take advantage of someone's inattention.
- 08
come to grief
To suffer a disastrous outcome.
Last updated August 10, 2026