beat into one's head

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, knock or drum into one's head . Force one to learn something. For example, Hard as I try, I can't seem to beat the correct safe combination into my head , or He promised to drum the numbers into my head by morning , or Whether we liked it or not, the English department was determined to knock Shakespeare into our heads . Although beat implies violence, the first term, from the early 1500s, usually alludes more to a repeated striking of blows, that is, repetition or drilling; likewise with drum (alluding to drumbeats), which dates from the early 1800s.

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April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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