tan someone's hide
To beat or spank someone, usually on their backside.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“If you break that vase, your father will tan your hide.”
“You should stop fighting before your mother decides to tan your hide.”
“He was afraid the angry neighbor would tan his hide for breaking the window.”
“The farmer warned the boys that he would tan their hides if they were caught stealing apples again.”
“My grandfather often tells stories about how his teachers would tan his hide whenever he skipped his chores to go fishing at the river.”
“The coach was so angry about the team's lazy attitude that he looked ready to tan someone's hide right there on the field.”
“The stern schoolmaster threatened to tan the hide of any student who dared to disrupt his lecture with such insolent behavior.”
The term arises by way of a metaphor from the leather tannery, where animal skins are subjected to a series of physical and chemical indignities. To condition the hide for use, it must be beaten, scraped, and treated with tannins; the idiom merely transfers this vigorous structural preparation from the animal carcass to the human subject.
- 01
another nail in someone's coffin
An event that increases the likelihood of or causes further failure.
- 02
answer someone's prayers
To be or do exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.
- 03
answer to someone's prayers
Exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.
- 04
apple of someone's eye
The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.
- 05
bane of someone's existence
Someone or something that poses a significant problem to someone.
- 06
bash someone's face in
To beat someone violently.
- 07
bash someone's head
To beat up someone violently.
- 08
be someone's to lose
To be anticipated to be won by someone.
Last updated August 10, 2026