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

throw something at someone • throw something to
someone
throw something at someone —
1
. throw smth. so as to hit a
person: One of the combatants threw a small paving-stone at
his opponent. 2. (of a question, remark, etc.) say in a casual or
rather aggressive way: I’m sorry about throwing all these ran-
dom suggestions at you.
throw something to someone —throw smth. so that a person
could get hold of it: After twice miscounting the sum, he
threw the whole to his daughter.
throw something back at someone • throw
 something back to someone
throw something back at someone —
1
. return smth. by throw-
ing it at a person, usually with a hostile intent: When I once
threw a radio at him, instead of throwing it back at me he
picked it up and started replacing the tubes. 2. remind a person
unkindly of the wrong things he has said or done: Last night
I realized how I was abused. Mistakes were thrown back at
me, not once, but several times for the same thing…
throw something back to someone —return smth. by throwing
it at a person: I don’t know how he anticipated me being there,
but he threw the ball back to me. It was a perfect throw.
tie someone down • tie someone up
tie someone down —restrict smb.’s freedom; encumber a per-
son: I don’t want to tie you down, but you do have responsi-
bilities here at home.
tie someone up —
1
. bind a person with rope, string, etc.: The
thieves left the old man tied up in the bedroom. 2. keep a per-
son very busy: Writing this article should not tie me up for
more than a week or two.
Note:
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase tie someone up in knots— make a person very nervous
or worried: Kerry tied him up in knots just quoting his past
utterances where he contradicted himself.