Learn English – Which meaning of the word ‘flay’ has been applied in “flay him to within an inch of his life”

phrase-meaningword-usage

… He(Uncle Vernon) shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to within an inch of his life when the Masons had left, and handed him a mop. …

I think "flay him to within an inch of his life" is figurative. But I'm not sure about what sense of 'flay' has been used from the following dictionary-suggesting definitions:

  1. When someone flays an animal or person, they remove their skin, usually when they are dead.

  2. If you flay someone, you criticize them severely for their beliefs, policies, or actions.

What does this phrase convey exactly?

— Excerpted from Harry Potter.

Best Answer

You're missing another meaning of flay:

1.2 Whip or beat (someone) so harshly as to remove their skin.
‘he flayed them viciously with a branch’
(ODO)

He was going to beat Harry "to within an inch of his life". It's an exaggeration. He was threatening to severely beat or whip Harry.

Yes, as I understand the word shoo, it is impolite. He might have been annoyed, or the writer wanted to convey that Vernon was annoyed (or some similar feeling).

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