grab by the lapels
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to confront or seize someone's attention forcefully
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
đối mặt hoặc thu hút sự chú ý của ai đó một cách mạnh mẽ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: physically grasping someone's coat lapels
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The manager grabbed the employee by the lapels and demanded an explanation
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “grab by the lapels” mean?
to confront or seize someone's attention forcefully Literally: physically grasping someone's coat lapels
Is “grab by the lapels” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.