Reading The Riot Act Idiom American Expressions and American Idioms - What does Reading The Riot Act Idiom mean?

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Reading the riot act What does Reading the riot act mean?	To complain or lecture loudly and with angry emotion.	Upset about his neighbors load music at 3:00 am, Davis knocked on the door and proceeded to read the riot act. "Reading the riot act" used to be a literal event. Bobbies in Britain used to read a prescribed proclamation, known as the Riot Act, before they could break up or arrest a crowd. The Riot Act is used in a fashion similar to the Miranda Rights in the US. The Bobbies would approach the crowd, read the Riot Act aloud, and then disperse or arrest them.
	Some Random Idioms
strike a bargain What does "strike a bargain" mean?	to reach an agreement on a price for something	I was able to strike a bargain with my neighbor to buy his car.
totally What does "totally" mean?	absolutely; completely; entirely
call it a day/night What does "call it a day/night" mean?	to quit work and go home	I called it a day and decided to go home early.
a calculated risk What does "a calculated risk" mean?	an action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed	The company took a calculated risk when they put the new computer screen on the market.
muscle What does "muscle" mean?	power in a car
gray area What does "gray area" mean?	an area of a subject that is not clearly defined	Smoking outside of public buildings is a gray area that the smoking law does not deal with.
put two and two together What does "put two and two together" mean?	to make a correct guess, to figure something out from the information that you have	We were able to put two and two together and discover who was sending the unwanted messages.

go to one's head What does "go to one's head" mean?	to make one dizzy	The drink quickly went to the man's head and he had to sit down and rest.
until the cows come home What does "until the cows come home" mean?	until very late	It is my birthday today so I plan to stay out and party until the cows come home.
bite (someone's) head off What does "bite (someone's) head off" mean?	to speak to someone in an angry way	I went to speak with my supervisor but she bit my head off.
get the benefit of the doubt What does "get the benefit of the doubt" mean?	to receive a decision in your favor when the evidence in neither for you nor against you	I got the benefit of the doubt when I complained about my parking ticket.
redneck What does "redneck" mean?	person from a small, rural town and possessing little education or manners

American Idioms and Expressions

Reading The Riot Act Idiom