Whup his ass and wail on his head

"Spehro Pefhany
[nq:1]"Wail on his head" seems to be a fairly rare American expression (only a few googlehits). Is that usage regional, dialect or just something that's rare or rarely written down?[/nq]
"Whale" the verb means strike, lash out. M-W, for one, has it.

Despite which "whale on his head" had only two google hits, and both were for the noun.
Still, if you know the ap

[nq:1]"Wail on his head" seems to be a fairly rare American expression (only a few googlehits). Is that usage regional, dialect or just something that's rare or rarely written down?[/nq]
Could it be to "whale on", to hit someone?

Best Donna Richoux

[nq:1]"Spehro Pefhany[/nq]
[nq:2]"Wail on his head" seems to be a fairly rare ... dialect or just something that's rare or rarely written down?[/nq]
[nq:1]"Whale" the verb means strike, lash out. M-W, for one, has it. Despite which "whale on his head" had only two google hits, and both were for the noun. Still, if you know the applicable meaning of "whale," you know what it means.[/nq]

[nq:2]"Spehro Pefhany "Whale" the verb means strike, lash out. M-W, ... the applicable meaning of "whale," you know what it means.[/nq]
[nq:1]Thank you. I suppose it can be added to "ad nauseam" as a term that is more often misspelt than not (in a Google search of the web).[/nq]
Would you mind posting exactly what words/phrases you checked, and the corresponding results? It's so rare for a

[nq:2]"Wail on his head" seems to be a fairly rare ... dialect or just something that's rare or rarely written down?[/nq]
[nq:1]Could it be to "whale on", to hit someone?[/nq]
Yes, it must be. OED1 speculates that it may have come from thrashing with a whalebone whip.
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" (Email Removed) Info for ma

[nq:1]"Wail on his head" seems to be a fairly rare American expression (only a few googlehits). Is that usage regional, dialect or just something that's rare or rarely written down?[/nq]
"Whale on", as a synonym for "thrash", was popular when I were a lad, though I never knew how to spell it. Googling for "wail on him" vs. "whale on him" gives about a 2:1 ratio, though a significant number of

[nq:2]Thank you. I suppose it can be added to "ad ... misspelt than not (in a Google search of the web).[/nq]
[nq:1]Would you mind posting exactly what words/phrases you checked, and the corresponding results? It's so rare for a word to have such a result, I'd like to see it for sure.[/nq]
"ad nauseam" = 66,500 hits
"ad nauseum" = 77,500 hits
I did not check the content for any of

In our last episode,
(Email Removed),
the lovely and talented Spehro Pefhany
broadcast on alt.usage.english:
[nq:1]"Wail on his head" seems to be a fairly rare American expression (only a few googlehits). Is that usage regional, dialect or just something that's rare or rarely written down?[/nq]
Try "whale."

Lars Eighner finger for geek code (Email Removed)

[nq:2]Would you mind posting exactly what words/phrases you checked, and ... such a result, I'd like to see it for sure.[/nq]
[nq:1]"ad nauseam" = 66,500 hits "ad nauseum" = 77,500 hits I did not check the content for any of those hits. Were you, perhaps, asking about the whaling/wailing thing?[/nq]
Yes, sorry. I knew about the nauseam/nauseum thing.
[nq:1]I tried the two words in comb

[nq:2]Could it be to "whale on", to hit someone?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, it must be. OED1 speculates that it may have come from thrashing with a whalebone whip.[/nq]
Funny. I had a recollection of 'wail on' (with that spelling) being used in Douglas Coupland's 'Microserfs'. I dunno where my copy is right now, though I still believe it said 'wail on'. But Amazon 'Look Inside' happens to have