slap on the wrist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"He does what he wants and sometimes gets a slap on the wrist, so why would he change?"

From BBC • May 18, 2026

After a prolonged legal battle between Elon Musk and U.S. regulators over his past purchase of Twitter shares, the technology CEO is getting off with little more than a slap on the wrist.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

The 36-year-old's victim, Ismail Qureshi, described the sentence as "a slap on the wrist".

From BBC • May 1, 2026

If those words mean anything, the school will identify the students who disrupted the event and hand them more than a slap on the wrist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

“Yeah, The Corporation will probably only get a slap on the wrist and get to set up shop somewhere else. Everything’s being blamed on Ladybird. Typical.”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray