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

get onto someone
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get someone into trouble • put someone to trouble
get someone into trouble —
1
. involve a person in a situation
causing difficulties, danger, etc.: Don’t mention my name or
you’ll get me into trouble. 2. (euph.) make an unmarried
woman pregnant: Kali doesn’t know the name of the man who
got her into trouble. But in trouble she is — there’s no doubt-
ing that.
put someone to trouble —cause smb. more than usual work
or effort; inconvenience a person: I’m sorry to put you to trou-
ble, I’m actually not hungry.
Note: 
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase
give someone trouble
— cause a person serious worry or problems:
The female “side” of a prison gives more trouble to the author-
ities than the male.
get someone off • get someone off the hook
get someone off —
1
. rescue a person from a crashed vehicle,
a sinking ship, etc.: The last three sailors were got off just
before the ship sank. 2. get a person cleared of a criminal
charge: Ted’s lawyer got him off, although we all knew he was
guilty.
get someone off the hook —(coll.) free a person from trouble,
an embarrassing situation, etc. (also: let someone off the hook):
“It’s an idea,” said Craig. “It would get Hartley off the hook,
sure enough.”
get something into shape • give shape to
 something
get something into shape —(also: knock something into shape)
quickly make smth. more perfect or better organized: We need
a new manager to get the business into shape.
give shape to something —arrange smth. in an orderly fashion;
express smth. clearly: I’m having trouble giving shape to my
ideas in this essay.