Wiktionary
alt. (context idiomatic English) A mild or overly mild punishment; a reprimand. n. (context idiomatic English) A mild or overly mild punishment; a reprimand.
Usage examples of "slap on the wrist".
We'll pick 'em up and you'll turn state's evidence an' testify against 'em, an' you'll get off with a slap on the wrist an' a stern talkin'-to from the judge.
Instead, he had been given what amounted to a slap on the wrist and a sinecure.
We'll strike so hard and deep into forbidden space they'll think the damage they did here was a slap on the wrist.
Jenkins might get a public slap on the wrist, but he was bound to get some private congratulations along with it.
I always know when the big game is on, and everybody involved gets a slap on the wrist.
Embassy could intervene and extradite guilty citizens back to the United States, where they received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.