prepositions - What is the difference between “whack somebody around the shins” and “whack somebody on the shins”?



At Dudley’s fifth birthday party, Aunt Marge had whacked Harry around the shins with her walking stick to stop him from beating Dudley at musical statues. (Harry Potter 3, Scholastic Paperbacks p18)



Can you explain what the difference between around and on is? I’d like to know if the around adds a subtle nuance to the sentence.




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