bacchettare

to rap on the knuckles

verb bahk-ket-TAH-reh Rare

Also means

to reprimand

Usage Note

Bacchettare literally means to strike with a bacchetta (rod, stick) — as a teacher once did to errant pupils. Figuratively it means to rebuke or tick off sharply. The noun bacchettata is the blow itself. Una bacchettata sulle dita (a rap on the fingers) is the classic literal image behind the idiom.

Examples

"Il professore lo ha bacchettato davanti alla classe."

Natural Translation

The teacher reprimanded him in front of the class.

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