Phrasal Verb Fun

boil
(boil, boiled, boiled)
When you boil water, it turns to steam.
boil down to
When you boil a mixture, a lot of the water escapes as steam. So what is
left is concentrated. Lots and lots of people speak in the same way.
The Ex-Minister for Public Affairs spoke for five hours about his
obligation to the people who elected him, his duty to the country, and to
the need to follow his conscience. What it boiled down to was that he
was innocent.
This
down
has the sense of reduction.
Three-word verb
No problem.
bottle
(bottle, bottled, bottled)
A glass container that can contain water, wine or Coca-cola. To bottle
something means to put it in a bottle. If you bottle your crop of peaches
this year, you put them in bottles for the winter.
bottle out
Bottles often have beer. Beer often means courage.
Out
means away
from here or not in the story any more. So if someone bottles out, it
means they have lost their courage.
Damon thought that the blond in the corner was stunning, and he wanted
to talk to her more than anything else in the world. But he bottled out. He
never said a word, so he went home alone and sad.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
break
(break, broke, broken)

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The basic meaning of break is to destroy something rigid. You break a
branch or a piece of chocolate by bending it until it snaps into two pieces.
You break a fridge by dropping it five floors.
break away
Away
means separate.
Imagine a large flock of birds flying south for the winter. A small group
may suddenly change direction. It will break away from the flock.
In several countries, there are smaller regions that have their own
distinctive culture. Sometimes they want to break away from the main
country.
Split away
means almost exactly the same.
Two-word verb without an object
. No problem.
break down
The beer is warm, Isabel, because the fridge has broken down.
Something big and mechanical, when it breaks, often just sits there and
doesn't move. A car, for instance, is
down
on the road, useless. It's
broken down. You must call for the break-down truck to come and take it
away.
By extension;
Talks between the political parties of the province have broken down.
They are not speaking to each other now.
We also use this phrase for a human when their minds break under the
strain of living. We say that they are having a nervous breakdown.
Two-word verb without an object
. No problem.
break it down
'Sales are €123,456,789 for the year. Could you break it down into
departments? What did each department sell?'
To break something
down
means 'to break something into components'.
Usually an idea, or a number.
Andrea says that she hates maths at school. It's always too complicated
and the teacher doesn't break it down into simple pieces.
Separable two-word verb
Be careful.