Oh here I go again off topic, sort of, but with a similar theme. I had a cheeky apprentice in 1970, told him to go and make the tea at the building site howf. His reply was, am no makin tea am not a "tea boy"wellll in those days you gave them a gentle reminder who was BOSS! Yup a clip round the earhole was applied. Greetin face buggered off home in a tiz, shoutin al get ma faither to you! Oops !
Anyway, the following morning back at the workshop, greetin face arrived with his faither, who came and asked who had clipped his son on said earhole, twas me says I to his faither, his faither promptly clobbered greetin face even harder than I had! Oops! His dad told me, in future hit him as hard as you like, it may knock some sense into him!
As you say Grendel, the law is a tad different these days !!!
Iain