Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a particularly savage beating.

1823		Age (London) 29 May 21/2: As the act of horse-whipping had, been lately practised with such effect, he was of opinion that ass-whipping might be as effectually adopted—and that as he had lately had occasion to leather a rascal or two.
1965		C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 19: Nigger, you got an ass-whippin’ comin’.
1975		J. Carr Bad (1995) 123: I wasn’t going to take an ass-whipping.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 94: So leave the scene, else you mouth gon’ get you an ass-whuppin – mos certainly!
1994		N. McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler (1995) 152: Anybody less dynamic than Chicago would have been [...] given a thorough ass-whipping.
1996		L. Pettiway Honey, Honey, Miss Thang 120: Then I would get an ass whooping for taking so long.
2002		D.H. Sterry Chicken (2003) 202: Maybe this asswhupping’ll turn his life around and make him a productive member of society.
2008		Simon & Burns ‘The Dickensian Aspect’ Wire ser. 5 ep. 6 [TV script] A straight-up ass-whupping in an alley.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 263: And if you did [cross gang borders], you were [...] ‘subject to a serious ass whipping’.
2012		T. Robinson ‘Last Call’ in Dirty Words [ebook] All accounts had Brian taking himself a decent ass-whupping.
2013		G. Crowe ‘Of Being Darker Than Light’ in ThugLit Feb. [ebook] [T]he Young Boys [...] too cocky to report an ass-whooping.
2022		J. Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 17: Part of her wanted to risk an ass-whupping.

2. in fig. use, any form of non-physical punishment.

1997

Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 27: DeAndre is grown enough to take either a charge or a legal ass-whipping if need be.