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do a number on sb

US slang

Definition

to hurt, defeat, or embarrass someone: She really did a number on her old boyfriend, making him beg her to come back and then turning him down.Treating people or animals badlyInsults and abuseUnkind, cruel and unfeelingViolent or aggressive
(Definition of do a number on sb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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