GIVE SOMEONE A HARD TIME

If you give a person a hard time, it means you criticize him or her for something, often for what he or she has done or not done as was expected.

Some examples:

When Tomas was little, the kids at school teased him because he was short. But then the year he turned 15, he grew nearly a foot, and no one gave him a hard time about his height any more.

or

Ray forgot his wife's birthday last year and she has been giving him a hard time about it since. So, this year, he has a big surprise planned. Hopefully, she will finally forgive him.

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