Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
beat into fits en · VERB
Meanings
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(slang, transitive) To surpass or defeat utterly.
I do not mean to say Sir Hercules could in a walk carry as much flour as a miller's horse; but he would beat him into fits, and bring him to a stand still, with 17st. on each of their backs in a gallop […]
1845, Sporting Magazine, volume 5, page 378:We shall be beaten into fits, for the child plays like an angel, as she does everything, and I am only a clumsy little imp, as you know.
1886, Elizabeth Lynn Linton, Paston Carew, Millionaire and Miser, page 175:
Forms