Dictionary

punch someone's lights out en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Chiefly by the metaphor of extinguishing someone's lights as sources of illumination (thus putting out their lights, e.g., snuffing out their lamps, lanterns, candles, or torches), but the sense of light as sightedness or vision is cognitively adjacent, nearly setting up an interpretation of lights as referring to the eyes themselves, which close (via the eyelids) at the advent of unconsciousness; the potentially variable figurativeness behind by one's lights is comparable here.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To give someone a serious beating using one's fists; to punch someone until he or she is unconscious.
   • After nasty phone calls, curses hurled over the back fence, fist-shaking, and other attempts to impress him with your seriousness, you meet him at the supermarket, lose control, and punch his lights out. 1980 July 17, Mike Steere, “Mediation Can Replace Lawsuits”, in Toledo Blade, retrieved 12 Nov 2015, page 18:
   • A Jersey Guy is a guy who does his duty and loves his family and will punch your lights out if you insult his wife. 2005 December 11, Terry Golway, “Jersey: Codey Can Now Bow Out With His Head Held High”, in New York Times, retrieved 12 Nov 2015:
   • "My intention was to punch his lights out," Parker said of Garber, "but as I got closer to the mound, my faculties came back and I cooled off. I just him and asked him what was going on." 1979 May 10, “NL Action is Wild and Woolly”, in Spokane Daily Chronicle, retrieved 12 Nov 2015, page 45:

Forms

Relateds

put someone's lights out

Synonyms

knock someone's lights out · beat to a pulp · beat someone's brains out