Word.ws English Dictionary

down the banks

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Ireland/daʊn d̪ə bæŋks/

down the banks noun: a severe criticism, scolding, reprimand, or punishment.

Noun

down the banks (uncountable)

  1. (Ireland, dated, slang, Liverpool) A severe criticism, scolding, reprimand, or punishment.
    • Independent woters ain't the chalk—and the K. Ns. has done it!— They've spiled the trade. Sam's done it—Amerikins has done it! Take 'em up for interfeerin' with other people's bisness. Give 'em down the banks; send em up ninety days; give em that,"—and he struck straight out at an imaginary head...1855, Albany Register, "An Independent Voter" (reprinted in Supplement to the Connecticut Courant, volume 20, number 27, page 211)
    • In a time in Ireland when politicians and public representatives and others are getting down the banks (if you’ll pardon the pun), a special word of gratitude goes to TD John Browne and Enniscorthy Town Councillor Keith Doyle for their support.2009 October 1, “Little Angel Davina’s massive legacy in €25,000 fundraiser”, in Wexford Echo

Prepositional phrase

  1. (New-York, obsolete, slang) In prison.
    • Mr. Heberton Fitzjames was (and, if he has not gone 'down the banks,' is) a gentleman such as we frequently see at the watering-places; a leader of the select parties there congregated. […] I became acquainted with Fitzjames in my way of making new friends. I had professional engagements with him...1852 April, "Flavul", The Knickerbocker, volume 39, page 336, "Transcripts from the docket of a late Sheriff of New-York"
    • A independent woter ain't the cheese any longer. […] The Stars is out in all kinds o' weather, and if they shines on a feller when he's got half a dozen glasses on board, the Watch-us', Squire Cole, and ten days down the banks, is the word!1855, Albany Register, "An Independent Voter" (reprinted in Supplement to the Connecticut Courant, volume 20, number 27, page 211)

Synonyms of down the banks

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Forms of down the banks

alternative formdown-the-banks

Origin of down the banks

Unknown. Probably of Irish origin. five conjectural etymologies * Notes & Queries, 3rd series, volume 1 (8 March 1862), page 189 posits a connection with "down the khud", supposedly used of a person falling down a precipice in the Himalayas. * Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (1998) suggests falling off the raised bank of a bog into muddy water. * Bernard Share (Slanguage, 1997) suggests a link to "The Banks of my own Lovely Lee", a Cork anthem nicknamed "De Banks". See also: * Laurence Urdang, Walter W. Hunsinger, Nancy LaRoche, Picturesque expressions: a thematic dictionary (1985, →ISBN), page 571 * The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006, →ISBN), volume 1 A–I, page 646

Words that rhyme with down the banks

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Questions about down the banks

What does down the banks mean?
Down the banks means a severe criticism, scolding, reprimand, or punishment.
What part of speech is down the banks?
Down the banks can be a noun or a prepositional phrase.
How do you pronounce down the banks?
Down the banks is pronounced /daʊn d̪ə bæŋks/ (Ireland).

Words near down the banks in the dictionary

  1. Down syndrome
  2. Down syndrome regression disorder
  3. Down syndromed
  4. down tack
  5. down tacks
  6. down the banks
  7. down the cludgie
  8. down the drain
  9. down the gurgler
  10. down the hatch
  11. down the house

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: down the banks (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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