Cantar a alguien las 40

ROBINDESBOIS · #1 September 16, 2009, 06:07 AM

Hola alguien sabría como decir " cantar a alguien las 40" es reprindar a alguien, to tell sb off.

pjt33 · #2 September 16, 2009, 06:28 AM

¿Etimología? ¿Connotaciones?

ROBINDESBOIS · #3 September 16, 2009, 07:15 AM

Can we say to give sb a piece of mind ????

poli · #4 September 16, 2009, 07:20 AM

To give someone a piece of you mild es dar reprimenda.
tambien se puede decir rebuke o admonition o
to tell off y
to scold
Pero cantar a alguien las 40 parece que singnifica otra cosa. Me parece que significa to read someone the riot act.

ROBINDESBOIS · #5 September 16, 2009, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poli

To give someone a piece of you mild es dar reprimenda.
tambien se puede decir rebuke o admonition o
to tell off y
to scold
Pero cantar a alguien las 40 parece que singnifica otra cosa. Me parece que significa to read someone the riot act.

ANd what is the meaning of " to read sb the riot act "

**Rusty** · #6 September 16, 2009, 10:41 AM

Mira aquí.

pjt33 · #7 September 16, 2009, 10:59 AM

I also wondered about reading the riot act, but I wanted some clarification first.

Historically the Riot Act was a law which laid out a form of words to be used by Sheriffs in telling a crowd to disperse. To "read the Riot Act" was to announce "Go home within 60 minutes or you will be executed." Nowadays it is to tell someone off; to me it carries connotations of angrily telling someone off.

poli · #8 September 16, 2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjt33

I also wondered about reading the riot act, but I wanted some clarification first.

Historically the Riot Act was a law which laid out a form of words to be used by Sheriffs in telling a crowd to disperse. To "read the Riot Act" was to announce "Go home within 60 minutes or you will be executed." Nowadays it is to tell someone off; to me it carries connotations of angrily telling someone off.

It means to loudly tell someone off and to expect and demand a change in behavior and to impy that if the demanded changes don't happen, dire
consequences will result.
example: after not calling in sick for three consequetive days, his boss read him the riot act. Now he knows that if he does this again he will be out of work.

ROBINDESBOIS · #9 September 17, 2009, 03:39 AM

It´s perfect them. Cantar las 40 involves all that.

María José · #10 September 17, 2009, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

Can we say to give sb a piece of mind ????

To give somebody a piece of your mind.

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Cantar a alguien las 40

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not readily apparent based on the individual words in the expression. This forum is dedicated to discussing idioms and other sayings.