Have you ever had to read the riot act to someone, or perhaps worse been read the riot act?
If so then you'll know that it can be quite a serious thing indeed and not a particularly pleasant experiencer either for the person who has misbehaved or the person doing the serious telling off!
What is the origin of the phrase read the riot act?
Well, this was to do with good old King George I, who created an actual act against twelve or more people doing a demo where the police had to read them the relevant law and send them out, so those protestors literally got read the riot act, and the phrase has stuck into the modern day!
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