20 Conflict and violence

A

B

C Particles in phrasal verbs connected with conflict and violence

Some of the phrasal verbs in this unit have the particle up (smash up, flare up) where up suggests extreme or complete. In come at and fly at at indicates the direction of the violent action. Off suggests remove in bump off [(informal), kill] and fight off, and out suggests remove completely in wipe out [completely destroy]. Thinking about the meaning the particle adds will help you learn the verbs in groups and remember them better.

Talking about conflict and violence

Faisal Why couldn’t you buy a ticket?

Emma The ticket office was closed and vandals had smashed up the machine on the platform.

Fatima What happened to you? Are you hurt?

Fatima Oh, that’s dreadful! Did he take your bag?

Alex No, I managed to fight him off, then some people came and he ran off.

Alex A man pushed me over and tried to steal my bag. He came at me from behind.

Camille What did the boss say when you all complained? Albert Well, he just flew at1 me and said I was irresponsible, then he rounded on2 the others and ordered them to get back to work. I’ve never seen him flare up3 like that before, you know, he just flew into4 a rage as soon as I opened my mouth.

Camille So relations are not good now? Albert No. It’s the biggest bust-up5 we’ve ever had with him. But we’re not going to let him push us around6 .

1 suddenly spoke to me very angrily 2 suddenly turned and attacked them or shouted at them angrily 3 suddenly become very angry 4 if someone flies into a particular state (e.g. rage, panic), they are suddenly in that state 5 (informal) an angry argument 6 tell someone what to do in a rude or threatening way

Jade I hear your neighbours have been fighting one another! Ben Yes, Luke said Arthur had stolen some plants from his garden, so he set his dog on7 him. Arthur kicked the dog, then punched Joss and almost knocked him out. The police had to come and break it up!

Eloise What happened at the end of the film?

7 attack someone, or make a person or animal attack someone

Maisie Well, they caught the man who’d been bumping everyone off, of course.

Metaphorical uses of phrasal verbs to suggest conflict or violence

The verbs in this group are particularly typical of newspaper language because they have metaphorical meanings, which is good for word play.

The government promised to wipe out poverty. [make it disappear completely]

The minister is fighting off calls for her resignation.

Some newspapers are trying to drag the prime minister into the scandal. [talk about or bring someone or something into a difficult or unpleasant situation, especially when that person or thing is not seen as being connected with the situation]

He published an article in a national newspaper as a way of striking back at his critics. [attacking someone who has attacked you (the literal meaning of striking is hitting)]

20.1

20.2

20.3

20.4

Complete these sentences by adding one word to the end of each one.

1 I couldn’t get anything from the vending machine because some hooligans had smashed it . 2 When Charlotte told her mother she had scratched her car, she flew into a . 3 He’s terribly bossy, so make sure you don’t let yourself be pushed . 4 Tom hit the man so hard that he knocked him . 5 Don’t interfere in the fight yourself – wait for the police to come and break it 6 Robyn did her best, but she didn’t manage to fight her attacker .

7 If someone criticises you unfairly, it is better to ignore them than to strike .

8 My neighbour went to jail for trying to bump her boss .

Correct the six mistakes with phrasal verbs in this paragraph.

There was a terrible bust-off at work today. The departmental manager came into the office in a terrible temper. She flew on her PA and when people tried to calm her down, she rounded at them. I don’t know what had got into her. She pushes everyone over a lot, but she’s not normally quite so aggressive. I tried not to get dragged onto it at first, but she started shouting really loudly at Jessica, so I stepped in to try to break things out.

Do the phrasal verbs in these sentences need an object? If so, add an appropriate object in an appropriate place.

1 When I tried to enter the house, the dog flew at. 2 Ellis can seem quite happy one moment and then the next he’ll flare up. 3 They threatened to bump off if he told anyone about the robbery. 4 Because she had learned some judo as a child, Lauren found it much easier to fight off. 5 I was completely taken by surprise when someone suddenly came at from behind. 6 After only ten seconds in the ring, Henry’s opponent had knocked out.

Rewrite these sentences using the word in brackets.

1 Paul tried to involve me in the argument, but I managed to stay out of it. (drag) 2 The old man thought the boys were trying to break into his house, so he told his dog to attack them. (set) 3 The aim of the organisation is to completely abolish cruelty to children. (wipe) 4 Although he is small, James is strong and he quickly managed to hit his attacker so hard that he became unconscious. (knock) 5 Uncle Ronnie can lose his temper very quickly if you say the wrong thing. (flare) 6 The witness saw the thief attack the woman just as she was opening her car door. (come) 7 The robbers came running out of the bank, knocking down an old lady who was in their path. (push) 8 Older people often find it harder to get rid of colds and other infections than younger people do. (fight)

Over to you

Find a story in a newspaper dealing with conflict or violence in some way. Note down any phrasal verbs that it contains in their context.