PREposiTioNAL VERbs

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. We make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. We will look at phrasal-prepositional verbs.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of: verb + adverb + preposition

Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object. And, like prepositional verbs, phrasalprepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at these examples:

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CLiclte

A cliche is not just something that lots of people say, it is something that lots of people say and it conveys some sort of idea or message. A cliche is, in other words, a metaphor characterised by its overuse.

•Thin red line

•Chase a rainbow

•Like a three ring circus

•Weak as a rat

•Bag and baggage

•Lesser of two evils

•Fish or cut bait

•Cut the coat according to the cloth

•Going around in circles

•A bucket full of something

•Within an ace of

•In a pig's eye

•Let sleeping dogs lay

•Stem the tide

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•Grin and bear it

•Kiss and tell

•By the book

•Cottage by the lake

•On the brink of disaster

•Beyond the pale

•The squeaky wheel gets the grease

•Dance the night away

•Clear as mud

•A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush

•Not worth the powder to blow it up

•Hand over hand

•Sight unseen

•Eating out of my hand

•He's no slouch

•There are plenty more fish in the sea

•Plumb the depths

•Ace in the hole

•Well and good

•Balls to the wall

•Yawning gulf

•Ivory tower

•From head to heels

•Read the tea leaves

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•Make it plain and clear

•One sandwich short of a picnic

•Ready for the funny farm

•Buy for a song

•Practice your plan

•Older than the crust on my grandma's underpants

•Statistics are for losers

•Every man has his price

•Blow your own horn

•Here's your hat, what's your hurry

•Busier than a one-armed paperhanger.

•Bats in the belfry

•Too clever by half

•The enemy is at the gate

•Every cloud has a silver lining

•The golden age

•A no-win situation

•It's raining cats and dogs

•He'd give you the shirt off his back

•There's no fool like an old fool

•This is a turd hunt

•A feather in his cap

•A very pretty box with a bow but nothing inside.

•Time has passed him by

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•Sticks to the ribs

•From bad to worse

•The third degree

•Eat my shorts

•There will come a day when all the work is finished Dr when it is too late to finish it

•By the book

•Like a breath of fresh air

•Unvarnished truth

•Keeping on top of things

•Turn up the pressure

•At loggerheads

•Use other door

•Start from scratch

•Keep the pot boiling

• America, the melting pot of the world

•Mould the minds of our youth

•Red-letter day

•Find yourself in a hole.

•To have ~,d to hold

•Dance your away around it

•You look like somebody shot at and missed, shit at and hit

•Tower of strength

•Quicker than shit through a goose

•It ain't over until the fat lady sings

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•That takes the cake

•The eternal verities

•Needless to say

•Spit and polish

•Cast into outer darkness

•Turn something into a roo

•The early bird catches the worm

•Smart cookie

•Strut your stuff

•Red on a Tomato

•Hold at bay

•Happy smoke (marijauna)

•Crazy as a loon

•You could hear a pin drop

•Make your own breaks

• He's a few fries short of a happy meal

•Click up your heels

•Month of Sundays

•Put the arm on

•Hit the nail on the head

•Rubber duck

•Live dangerously

•You can't win 'em all

•The long and the short of it

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•Idiot box (TV)

•Get ripped to shreds

•Slicker than a wet weasel on a linoleum floor

•Clutch shot to win the game

•Life sucks and then you die...

•Little bird told me

•Cardinal sin

•As fate would have it

•Living doll

•A chip off the old block

•Nutty as a fruitcake

•Couldn't care less

•Bloody but unbowed

•A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

•An Albatross around the neck

•At wits' end

•Do a good turn

•You get what you give

•Fork it over

•Keep your fmgers crossed

•With flying colours

•Sweating like a whore in church

•Play fast and loose

•Busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger

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•he went a ways down the road

•You can choose your friends and you can choose your enemies, but you can't chose family!

•It ain't over until the fat lady sings

•Wild and woolly

•As plain as the nose on your face

•Hop on over to my house

•You have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull the wool over my eyes

•Go fly a kite

•Every Tom, Dick and Harry

•He's a quick study

•Let the cat out of the bag

• So let it be written, so let it be done

•I'm all over L~at like a fat kid on a smartie

•Like a bump on a pickle

•Sadder and wiser

•Old guard

•Cry me a river

•No matter where you go, there you are

•Got hosed (cheated)

•Wages of sin

•Land of milk and honey

•Bottoms up

•As big as a whale

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•Take a bullet for you

•Wet behind the ears

•Stone cold sober

•Hurry dog eats raw meat.

•Needless to say

•High-water mark

•Had eyes that would burn a hole right through you

•Can't see beyond the end of his nose

•Youthful folly

•Strain at a net and swallow a camel

•Hasn't got a pot to piss in (nor a window to throw it out)

•Hop on over to my house

•Pencil thin eyebrows

•So Hungry He Could Eat The North End Out Of A South Bound Cow

•Good To Go

•A picture is worth a thousand words

•Not on your life

•The night of all nights

•Stray off the reservation

•The grass is always greener..

•He's so mean he could make a worm jump

•He's off his rocker.

•Chicken hearted

•First saw the light of day

•Counting on it

•Green with envy

•Honest Injun

•Don't give up your day job

•The cotton belt

•It was like a circus

•I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole

•Take a licking and keep on ticking

•Whatever lifts your skirt

•A chink in the armour

•Against all hope

•Full of himself

•Be your own man

•You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar

•Home is where the heart is

•Que sera, sera

•Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater

•Early to bed and early to rise makes a man health, wealthy and wise.

•He thinks he's shit on a stick but he's only a fart on a twig

•Put on the back burner

•Hit with an ugly stick

•Jumpy as peas on a hot griddle

•The powers that be

•Close enough for government work.

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•Steal his thunder

•On a short leash

•Take umbrage

•Big honcho

•Run with the hare, hunt with the hounds

•The wheat belt.