miércoles, 9 de marzo de 2011

Tear someone off a strip 30408

Tear someone off a strip

Talk to someone angrily


A : The next time I see Charlie I'm going to tear him of a strip. I lent him a book called 'Improve Your Memory' and he hasn't given it back. He's had it for over a year now.

B : Why doesn't he return it ?

A : He says he keeps forgetting.

This is based on the Old English verb tear which meant rage/ be violently angry. As is quite common in the evolution of a word, it has become confused with the more modern version, nowadays tear means pull apart/rip.

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