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Brazil
March 3, 2012
act up
- When a person behaves badly.
My kids were acting up during the movie – they were talking loudly and annoying everyone in the theater!
- When a disease or medical condition starts to become annoying after not being a problem for some time.
I can’t play soccer today. My left knee’s been acting up lately.
back up
- back (someone) up= give someone support or help, especially when they make a difficult decision or present an idea that may be unpopular.
The manager decided to cancel our holiday, and the director backed him up on it.
- back up (files or documents on a computer) = make a copy of the information in case there’s a problem with the computer in the future.
If you back up your files, you won’t lose your work if your computer crashes. - back up (a car) = drive the car in reverse.
You should check your mirrors frequently when backing up in order to avoid an accident.
beat up
- beat (someone) up = physically attack a person with kicks and punches
The bank robbers beat up the security guard so badly that he had to be taken to the hospital. - beat (yourself) up = be angry at yourself because of a mistake you made.
I’m beating myself up over that stupid mistake I made on the test!Sarah, I know the job interview went badly, but don’t beat yourself up about it. I’m sure you’ll find another opportunity.
blow up
- Explode.
The bomb blew up and destroyed the building. - Have an explosion of anger.
Donna blew up when she discovered that her son was using drugs. - Blow (something) up = inflate with air.
We blew up 500 pink balloons for my daughter’s birthday party.
bottle up
To keep emotions inside.
Dan bottles up all his emotions – he never shows what he’s feeling.
break up
To end a romantic relationship.
Sally and her boyfriend broke up last week.
bring up
- bring (someone) up= care for and educate a child for many years.My sister isbringing up three biological children and two adopted children.
- bring (something) up= introduce a subject into a conversation or discussion.Ibrought up the issue of salary adjustments during the meeting.
cheer up
cheer (someone) up = to make someone happier
My son was sad because he had a bad day at school. I tried to cheer him up by buying him ice cream.
clean up
To make clean
Please clean up the mess you made in the kitchen!
come up
To arise.
Sorry I couldn’t come to your birthday party yesterday – something came up.
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