Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to beat up, to assault; thus swaddling n., a beating.

c.1520		Wife lapped in Morrelles Skin in Hazlitt Early Popular Poetry IV line 843: If thou doe not serue me, and that anon, I shall shew mine anger I sweare by God, and by saynt John, Thy bones will I swaddle, so have I blisse.
1577		Misogonus in Farmer (1906) II i: I’ll bum fiddle thee, in faith! I’ll swaddle your skin!
1611		R. Cotgrave Dict. of Fr. and Eng. Tongues n.p.: chaperon. Hee bangd, belammed, thumped, swadled her.
1628		R. Speed Counter Scuffle D: Behinde the doore he stood to heare, / But in he durst not come for feare / Of swadling.
1636		W. Davenant Platonic Lovers V i: You shall hear all within, perhaps find cause To swaddle my old hide.
1663		S. Butler Hudibras Pt I canto 1 line 23: Great on the bench, great in the saddle, / He could as well bind o’er as swaddle.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Swaddle to Beat lustily with a Cane or Cable’s end. I’ll Swaddle your Hide, I’ll bang your Back.
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: To Swaddle; to beat lustily with a Cane, &c.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc.