Noun
telling-to (plural tellings-to)
(informal) A reprimand, reproach, or lecture.
2011 December 30, Brokaw, James III, Waiting for War, Hedgie Press, →ISBN, page 97:We all watched the reaction, as Sergeant Rich received a good telling to.
2016 July 8, Woods, Judith, “'Red boxes are very much banned from the bedroom'”, in The Daily Telegraph, London, retrieved 6 October 2019:I suspect the Tories are desperate for a good telling to from someone like May who has authority and energy – and great optimism about the future, albeit expressed in more measured tones than her rather more hyperbolic rival.