Phrasal Verb Fun

catch on, catch on to
Mrs Ballantyne's teenage son used to smoke a lot, until one day when he
was swimming, he caught on to the fact that this was not a good idea.
Ideas can move fast. In order to understand a new idea you have to catch
on to it. This means that you have to catch it and
hold on
to it.
Often we reverse this, and it is the idea that catches on. When an idea -
specially a fashion - catches on, it becomes fashionable and acceptable.
When Matilda looked at the Paris fashions that year, she said, 'Miniskirts
and football boots! No, it'll never catch on.'
CATCH ON is a
two-word verb without an object
No problem.
CATCH ON TO is a
three-word verb
No problem either..
catch out
When the batsman in cricket or baseball hits the ball and a fielder catches
the ball before it touches the ground, then the batsman is
out
of the game.
He has been caught out.
So if Orlanda is telling us a story about what she did yesterday, and we
notice that a detail is not right, then we know that she is lying. She has
been caught out. We caught her out in a lie.
Separable two-word verb
Be careful.