a wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the wrists and neck; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn
source: WordNet 3.0
A frame of adjustable boards erected on a post, and having holes through which the head and hands of an offender were thrust so as to be exposed in front of it.
source: Webster 1913
verb
expose to ridicule or public scorn
source: WordNet 3.0
punish by putting in a pillory
source: WordNet 3.0
criticize harshly or violently
The press savaged the new President. The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage.
