Phrasal Verb Fun

get carried away
Mary started cooking a little dinner for four people, but she got carried
away, so we had to invite the family next door to help us eat it all.
Get
, you may remember, often has the sense of become, or for
something to happen to you. For example - get happy, get strong, or to
get married. To get carried away means that something or someone
carried you
away
.
In the literal sense, of course, it would mean 'kidnapped' or 'blown by the
wind', but we never use it like this. We use it to mean 'overcome by
enthusiasm to the point where we lose our judgement'. The original idea,
centuries ago, was that it was the soul that was carried away.
Never send Steve to do the shopping. He always gets carried away, and
comes home with lots of things we don't need.
Fixed expression. No problem.
carry off
Off
frequently means a movement away (like
go off
on a journey,
set off
,
take off
). When you carry off something like a project, you take it away.
Why do you take it away? Because you have completed it. It is finished.
There is nothing more to do. It is perfect..
When you carry off a project or a performance, it is a success. Always.
Lilly Luvvey is a comedian, not a Shakespearian actress, but the
reviewers all thought she carried it off very well as Lady McBeth.
Compare this with
bring off
and
pull off
.
And also, ladies and gentlemen, this project will
come off
.
It will be a success.
They all mean the same.

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Separable two-word verb
Be careful.