Learn English – Idiom – “To put the hurt on”

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I heard the idiom "put the hurt on" a lot growing up and I have a rough feeling of what it means but I'm not quite sure how to boil down the meaning to something I can explain to someone else.

A good example of the idiom being used in context is: https://youtu.be/NMV5wwzLVSY?t=62

My rough understanding is that it means something along the lines of "did someone a disservice but because they deserved it" but maybe someone knows more about the etymology of the phrase and can help clarify it.

Best Answer

According to M-W it is an AmE informal expression

Put the/a hurt on:

  • to injure or damage (someone or something):
    • If we adopt a more aggressive strategy, we can really put the hurt on our competitors.
    • They really put a hurt on him. [=hurt/injured him very badly]

The Concise New Partridge of Slang and Unconventional English says it is also a UK saying which means:

  • inflict pain on

According to Ngram it appears to be mainly an AmE expression which has been used from the mid 60's.

There are a few example usages dated earlier, before it became a set phrase:

  • Mabel, go in the cellar and get me a club so I can put a hurt on her head and make it bleed." from "The Broom Behind the Door" 1949.

  • Taid said, " Never put a hurt on a child," and he looked at me more gravely than he ever had before. And Nain said, " This is the way I brought up Emyr." from "Three Bear Witness". 1952

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