Phrasal Verb Fun

cut back, cut back on
Weeds are plants you don't want in your garden. But, of course, they
grow there with enthusiasm. So you have to regularly cut them back to
their original state,
back
from the garden.
Our expenses are like weeds. They are always growing. And, like the
gardener, we regularly have to cut back. We have to cut back on
expenses.
CUT BACK usually is a
two-word verb without an object
, so no problem.
CUT BACK ON is a
three-word verb
No problem either.

---

cut down, cut down on
'I've got to cut down on my smoking. I smoke about 100 a day. For my
New Years Resolution I'll cut down to only 60 a day. What do you think?'
The direction towards the earth is
down
.
Brenda cut down on on her fried breakfasts, and cakes, and chocolate.
And soon she was going shopping for new clothes with a happy smile on
her face.
To cut down a number is to dramatically reduce it. After all, cutting down a
tree dramatically reduces it to a stump.
CUT DOWN is a
two-word verb without an object
. No problem.
CUT DOWN ON is a
three-word verb
. No problem either.
cut in
Like
cut off
this is a sudden interruption. Sometimes in traffic, when you
are just about to move, some maniac pushes his car rudely in front of you.
If he is a real maniac, this can sometimes be dangerous. He comes
in
from the outside, he just cut in.
Two-word verb without an object
. No problem
cut off
Sometimes in the winter, mountain villages are cut off. They need
emergency support by helicopter.
We can use
off
to mean disconnected. If your electricity, your phone, your
water, or, even worse, your Internet connection is cut off, you are cold,
silent, dry, and in the dark.
If a person is cut off, it means that they do not inherit anything from the
family.
Morty was a gambler, waiting for the day his wealthy father would die.
But he lost the bet. His father cut him off without a penny..
Separable two-word verb
Be careful.
cut out
Billy Blubber, a fat man who is getting fatter every day, should not have
got that job in the chocolate factory. He is definitely not cut out for the
job.
A tailor cuts a suit
out
from a piece of cloth. And then, we hope, the suit

---

fits perfectly. By extension, if somebody feels that he is not suitable for a
certain kind of work, he may say that he is not cut out for it.
Mary, a quiet studious girl, was not cut out to be a bingo caller.
Always passive.
cut up
If you are cut, it is painful and damaging.
Up
here means completely, so to
cut something up is to cut it into little pieces.
'Where is George?'
'Didn't you hear? He lost his job, and disappeared.'
'Why? I thought he was good at it.'
'He was cut up about his wife running away.'
When we say someone is cut up about something, it means that they are
destroyed.
Always passive.
deal
(deal, dealt, dealt)
One of the commonest meanings of deal is at the card table. The dealer
is the one who distributes the cards.