GET IT IN THE NECK

If you get it in the neck, you are severely criticised or punished.

e.g. “I do get it in the neck from everybody, from all sides. That goes with the territory.”

A Guide to American English idioms suggests that “it” in this case is a foot or fist, and that the expression refers to being kicked or hit in the neck, although the Oxford online dictionary states that this is a British phrase.

It is unclear why one would get it in the neck rather than elsewhere. The Free Dictionary suggests that this refers to execution by hanging or beheading, in which case “it” would be a rope or an axe.