A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

be an old dog at something
—(Austral. sl.) be skilled at or well
versed in smth. due to a long association with it: What I didn’t
know was that Chicago attorney was an old dog at the game
of cross-examination. He was in his elements.
teach one’s grandmother to suck eggs —is used as a caution
against offering advice to others who are more experienced:
There are people who know much more about this, but at the
risk of trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs, I will
make the following observations.
tear someone down • tear someone up
tear someone down —(U.S. coll.) criticize smb. severely; pun-
ish a person: Why won’t a politician talk according to his con-
science? Because the next day, media and the opposition will
tear him down.
tear someone up —(U.S. coll.) cause smb. much grief; up-
set a person: She’s feeling really bad for Lodge because she
knows how much it will tear him up once he realizes his mis-
take.
tear something down • tear something up
tear something down —
1
. dismantle or demolish smth.: The
old theater is to be torn down and replaced by offices. 2.
remove smth. by pulling down roughly: Even doors, fences,
and planks from the wooden houses were torn down to serve
as fuel. 3. (of a machine, etc.) take to pieces: We shall have to
tear the engine down completely. 4. (U.S. coll.) criticize smth.
severely: The insolence of a writer tearing down a piece before
it’s been performed!
tear something up —
1
. rip smth. up into pieces; destroy smth.
by pulling it roughly: The workmen are tearing up the road
to lay new electric wires. 2. (of a contract, etc.) break off: The
workers have torn up the agreement with the management.
telephone girl • telephone man
telephone girl —an operator in a telephone exchange: The
telephone girl sits on her high stool as she produces alternate
order and chaos at her switchboard.
telephone man —telephone mechanic: Common usage
among telephone men has led to the classification of telephone
service as follows: local, suburban, toll and long distance.