Phrasal Verb Fun

break through
President de Gaulle said, 'Every great man became great by breaking
through his limitations.'
Break through an imagined barrier to freedom. We break
through
our
fears or our laziness. Every important scientific discovery is called a
break-through.
Inseparable two-word verb
No problem.
break up
Many years ago, an old sailing ship was wrecked on these rocks. It
broke up into tiny splinters. There was no piece larger than your hand.
In a phrasal verb,
up
often means 'completely'. First the woodcutter cuts
down a tree, and then he cuts it up into logs. '
fill up
a glass' means 'fill it
to the top'. Here, break up means 'break completely, into pieces'.
By extension;
It was an ugly crowd, throwing bottles and stones everywhere, but at last
the police broke it up.
(There was no crowd left. It ceased to exist. The people in it went away in
different directions.)
'It's a terrible line. I can't hear anything you say. The signal is all broken
up.'
What we all say sometimes on the phone.
Separable two-word verb
Be careful.