{"id":1582,"date":"2022-02-09T04:20:51","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T04:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=1582"},"modified":"2022-02-09T04:20:51","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T04:20:51","slug":"read-the-riot-act-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/read-the-riot-act-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Read the Riot Act - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Is your father giving your grief about coming home late last night? If so, you could say they are about to \u201c<em>read the riot act<\/em>\u201d to you and warn you not to do it again. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and use of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Read the Riot Act Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>If you \u201c<em>read the riot act<\/em>\u201d to someone, you\u2019re giving them a verbal warning that they need to change their behavior, or there will be consequences for their actions. It\u2019s a common expression used to demand that the other person change their behavior and fall in line with your expectations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Depending on the situation, you could use the phrase at work or home. For instance, your boss could <em>read you the riot act<\/em> if they discover you doing something other than what you should be doing. Your mom could <em>read you the riot act<\/em> if she comes home after a hard day at work to find you haven\u2019t finished your homework.<\/p>\n<h2>Read the Riot Act Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cif you don\u2019t stop that behavior right now, Timmy, I\u2019m going to <em>read the riot act<\/em> and send you to your room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe boss wasn\u2019t happy with the way the guys stocked the storeroom. He <em>read the riot act<\/em> and told them he\u2019ll fire them if they don\u2019t sort it out by tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI walked up to that girl to say hi, but before I could say anything, she <em>read me the riot act<\/em> and told me to stay away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ref <em>read the riot act<\/em> to LeBron; he\u2019s tired of him swinging his elbows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1583\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Read-the-Riot-Act.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"106\" height=\"157\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1584\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Read-the-Riot-Act2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"111\" height=\"106\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Read the Riot Act Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the phrase \u201c<em>read the riot act<\/em>\u201d comes from a law named \u201c<em>the riot act<\/em>,\u201d passed in Great Britain in 1714. The riot act involved legislation stating that groups of 12 or more people showing erratic or violent behavior would be deemed a \u201c<em>riot<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If such a crowd gathered, local law enforcement was responsible for dispersing the group before turning the gathering into a full-scale riot, causing property damage and injuries to the public.<\/p>\n<p>If the crowd refused to disperse at the command of the police, the authorities would read the group \u201c<em>the riot act<\/em>,\u201d giving them an hour to disperse. The police would arrest any remaining people from the crowd if they failed to adhere to the warning and leave the area.<\/p>\n<p>If arrested, the culprits would face the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>The British government invoked the use of the riot act several times during the 18th and 19th centuries. There were several occasions where the authorities would not have to wait the required hour for the crowd to disperse if there was a threat of violence.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Minute English #319: read the riot act\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G5sLvdZiF68?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Read the Riot Act<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Give them hell.<\/li>\n<li>Tell them off.<\/li>\n<li>Scream blue murder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Read the Riot Act<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Calm and collected.<\/li>\n<li>A friendly conversation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Read the riot act.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Read the Riot Act Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>Some people may use the phrase in reference to a riot. However, the saying has nothing to do with a riot, and the word \u201c<em>riot<\/em>\u201d simply means bad behavior, disrespect, or irritation in this case. You\u2019re not actually reading a \u201c<em>riot act<\/em>,\u201d you\u2019re just telling someone off for their bad behavior or actions.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Read the Riot Act<\/h2>\n<p>You can use \u201c<em>read the riot act<\/em>\u201d in social and professional situations where you\u2019re looking to reprimand a peer, children, or a co-worker. The phrase means that you\u2019re giving them a \u201c<em>telling off<\/em>,\u201d and you expect them to change their behavior, or there will be consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Is your father giving your grief about coming home late last night? If so, you could say they are about to \u201cread the riot act\u201d to you and warn you not to do it again. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and use of this expression. Read the Riot Act Meaning If you \u201cread the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1582"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1707,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582\/revisions\/1707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}