give (someone or something) a shellacking

1. To thoroughly beat or thrash someone or something; to give someone or something rough treatment or abuse. My younger brother was always a shy, skinny kid, so schoolyard bullies often gave him a shellacking. These old sneakers really gave my feet a shellacking while we were hiking. I'm so sore. Do they give all freshmen a shellacking at football practice?

2. To soundly defeat or best someone or something, especially by a wide margin. Their team's inexperience showed on the field today, as a seemingly unstoppable New England team gave them a shellacking. The rival party has given them an absolute shellacking in the recent elections—they've lost nearly two thirds of their seats in Congress. The final score was 17–1? Wow, they really gave us a shellacking last night!