throw the book at

present singular third person throws the book at · participle present throwing the book at · past threw the book at · participle past thrown the book at

1. idiomaticinformaltransitiveTo charge with or convict of as many crimes as possible.

   COURT THROWS BOOK AT HIM: ... Thomas Pasco, beggar, got everything the statutes would permit Judge Binkle to give him yesterday afternoon.

   1903 September 9, “COURT THROWS BOOK AT HIM”, in Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, page 5

2. idiomaticinformaltransitiveTo apply the harshest possible punishment to.

   The judge, not weeping any, throws the book at him, which means he gives Bob the limit.

   1926, Will James, Cowboys north and south, page 95

   1 more example

   [C]riminals ... dreaded to be brought into his court, as a conviction meant a severe sentence. As one criminal expressed it to another, "The judge throws the book at you."

   1897 December 12, “Light Sentences for Criminals”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle, WA, page 16

   Synonyms: throw the rulebook at

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, the, book, at.