keel-haul, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

keel-haul v.

[naut. jargon keel-haul, ‘To haul (a person) under the keel of a ship, either by lowering him on one side and hauling him across to the other side, or, in the case of smaller vessels, lowering him at the bows and drawing him along under the keel to the stern’ (OED)]

to treat badly, to punish, to beat, to ruin.

1791		A. Pasquin Shrove Tuesday 62: Och Blarney, Blarney! by sweet Ireland’s martyr, / May I be keel-hawl’d but I’ve cotched a Tartar!
1821		R. Waln Hermit in America on Visit to Phila. 2nd series 25: ‘Now you’re keel-hauled’ – ‘Come, knock under.’.
1837		Marryat Snarleyyow I 17: And after the flogging—you shall be keel-hauled.
1844		Worcester Jrnl 28 Nov. 4/1: A gentleman asked Justice Parsons the definition of keel-haul. He replied, ‘It is under-going a great hard-ship’.
1876		London Standard 5 May 3/2: This question was received with cries of ‘Keel-haul the magistrate’.
1878		Dundee Courier 5 Nov. 5/4: When I met him I proposed to ‘keel-haul’ him here [...] Cowan rebounded back to the platform [...] ‘It is not true [...] Mr Brownless said that he would cowhide me’.
1880		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 2 Oct. 7/2: John was hauled up, overhauled and keel-hauled by the angry Commissioners.
1886		‘’Arry on Commercial Education’ Punch 26 Sept. in P. Marks (2006) 124: And instead of keel-hauling the furriner, putting the kibosh on hus!
1890		Preston Chron. 25 Jan. 4/6: We have no doubt that the legal gentlemen selected for service [...] will adequately keel-haul the Committee and their evidence.
1905		Cheltenham Chron. 25 Feb. 5/6: I should keel-haul a nurse who took the coals from the scuttle with a shovel.
1915		G. Bronson-Howard God’s Man 251: I could peddle it myself, but there’s Custom spies all over Chinatown and they might keel-haul me before I unshipped a quarter of my load.
1927		Eve. teleg. (Dundee) 2 Dec. 4/5: He invites the Socialist Soviets in the constituencies [...] to keel-hul the M.P.s for their misconduct.
1939		E. O’Brien One Way Ticket 73: You think because you get yourself drunk [...] and get keelhauled by a woman, I’m supposed to worry about you troubles.
1957		‘Neville Shute’ On the Beach 100: Or have you had him keel-hauled for insubordination since we met?
1970		D. Ponicsan Last Detail 66: We gotta take you there or we get keelhauled ourselves.
1978		R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 93: Lucky I wasn’t keelhauled.