wail on
English
Verb
wail on
- (slang) Alternative form of whale on
- The wrench wouldn’t budge, even though Tony was just wailing on it with a big old sledge hammer.
- 1968 July 7, Hunter S. Thompson, “To Jim Silberman, Random House”, in Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist, published 2000:
- I've had two sessions with the fellow I talked to today; a few weeks ago he got me off balance when my tape recorder failed and he never let me up ... but today I wailed on him, no mercy at all, and he blew it completely.
- 2016, Neoma Nayrah, The Light Under the Door:
- I go straight for his head, and start wailing on him, with the broom.
- 2017, Tanya Reimer, Cursed on the Prairies: a Sacred Land Story:
- He shoved Jessie off but Jessie came back and wailed on him something harsh. Russ curled up, taking the hits, remembering what Cal had said about how a guy could take a lot of hits, but he only had to give one to make his point.
References
- wail on at OneLook Dictionary Search
- wail in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.