lower the
boom
: 1. To deliver a knockout punch. Prize fight use. ->
: 2. To chatise or punish; to attack with criticism; to treat sternly; to demand obedience. ...
: 3. To prevent another from succeeding; to act in such a manner as to harm another's chances od success.
: From _
Dictionary of American Slang_ (1960) by H. Wentworth & S.B. Flexner.
: ----------
: lower the the
boom on ... This expression refers to the boom of a sailboat -- a long spar that extends from the mast to hold the foot of the sail. In a changing wind, the boom can
swing wildly, leaving one at risk of being struck
: As a sailor, the
story ran, he had knocked men overboard with a
single punch, when he "lowered the boom" on them. (Dempsey & Stearns, _Round by Round_, 1940)
LOWER THE BOOM - "to reprimand harshly, to stop someone from doing something. A boom is a long spar or pole used to extend the bottom of certain sails; or, it can be a spar that extends upward at an angle from the foot of a mast from which there are suspended objects to be lifted. Derrick, the
famous hangman during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, devised the prototype for the
ship's boom - a hoist that still bears the inventor's name. Ashore, lowering the boom on someone means to call that person harshly to account. This can be done severely enough to leave one's ears ringing." From "When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead
Horse There's the Devil to Pay: Seafaring Words in Everyday Speech" by
Olivia A. Isil (International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, McGraw-Hill, 1996)
LOwer the boom as The evil snake Lloyd thought that he and his
wench were going to steal all of Joes hard earned money until the beautiful Mrs. Fincher perked high on
Jesus mountain top as lovely as and her captivating friend the gracious Mrs. Gail swooped down on the ugly serpent with bad breath and lowered the boom!!! Boom yow! on the scaley beast and knocked him out with a one two punch where he and his rodent
wife retreated by the way her name is Debra (hence the term snake in the grass) as the proper authorities hauled them off to
prison where they belong. God Bless