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A boss who feels the need to "chew out" people is just not a good boss in most cases, and generally speaking just an unpleasant person. There are better ways to deal with people, the way I deal with such a boss is to zone out and ignore. Never been the direct subject of such idiocy though.
Bring your smartphone, mute it, and quietly start browsing random wikipedia pages. Or just read up on some work related stuff. It's the best way I found to zone out of what is being said if it doesn't concern you, whilst still keeping an ear open in case you're asked for input (it may also prevent you from falling asleep). Also in my experience, in the USA at least, it appears to be quite ok to have your, muted, smartphone with you and use it during meetings.
Thanks, very helpful. Company's rather small though so roles of HR, manager et al can be filled by one person. There is no easy neither a single answer, but I marked yours as accepted.