punch someone's lights out

Chiefly by the metaphor of extinguishing someone's lights as sources of illumination (thus putting out their lights, e.g., snuffing out their lamps, lanterns, candles, or torches), but the sense of light as sightedness or vision is cognitively adjacent, nearly setting up an interpretation of lights as referring to the eyes themselves, which close (via the eyelids) at the advent of unconsciousness; the potentially variable figurativeness behind by one's lights is comparable here.

• ""My intention was to punch his lights out," Parker said of Garber, "but as I got closer to the mound, my faculties came back and I cooled off. I just him and asked him what was going on.""
• "After nasty phone calls, curses hurled over the back fence, fist-shaking, and other attempts to impress him with your seriousness, you meet him at the supermarket, lose control, and punch his lights out."
• "A Jersey Guy is a guy who does his duty and loves his family and will punch your lights out if you insult his wife."

• beat someone's brains out
• beat to a pulp
• knock someone's lights out

• put someone's lights out