scare straight

verb

Definitions

  1. To frighten (someone) to such a degree that a significant improvement in behavior results.

    • Indeed, there is a streak of Reaganomics that believes the only way to motivate American workers is to scare them straight with unemployment charts.
    • Thomas credited the boot camp for scaring him straight.
    • Slimmed down and scared straight after his bypass surgery, Clinton brokers a deal to get sugary drinks out of schools.

The neighborhood

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sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA