letting someone have it

Verb

let someone have it (third-person singular simple present lets someone have it, present participle letting someone have it, simple past and past participle let someone have it)

1. (idiomatic) To attack someone with great force.
   • At dawn we really let 'em have it with a 30 minute artillery barrage.
2. (idiomatic) To verbally assail someone.
   • When I came home, he let me have it for wrecking the car.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see let, have, it.
   • When he showed me that he'd gotten the insurance certificate for our old car, I decided to let him have it.