To nail an assertion

Nail Nail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Nailed} (n[=a]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Nailing}.] [AS. n[ae]glian. See {Nail}, n.] 1. To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams. [1913 Webster]

He is now dead, and nailed in his chest. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2. To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails. [1913 Webster]

The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

3. To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion; hence, to catch; to trap. [1913 Webster]

When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at once how I nailed them. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]

4. To spike, as a cannon. [Obs.] --Crabb. [1913 Webster]

{To nail an assertion} or {To nail a lie}, etc., to detect and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; -- an expression probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of money to the counter. [1913 Webster]