or dressing-down, subs. (colloquial).—Correction, whether manual or verbal; also defeat. Cf., BASTE. For synonyms, see TANNING.
1811. AUSTEN, Sense and Sensibility, ch. xxx. If ever I meet him again I will give him such a DRESSING as he has not had this many a day.
1855. THACKERAY, The Newcomes, ch. xxviii. The Scourge flogged him heartily … and the Penny Voice of Freedom gave him an awful DRESSING.
