Vocabulary
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Put washing outside to dry(separable)
“I PEGGED the washing OUT after it stopped raining.”
Confine people or animals to an area and prevent them from leaving(separable)
“The police PENNED the protesters IN.”
Keep people or animals in a restricted area and prevent them from leaving(separable)
“The journalists were PENNED UP in an area that was fenced off from the spectators.”
Make a provisional appointment(separable)
“I'll PENCIL Thursday night IN, but if anything comes up, give me a ring.”
Make something more interesting(separable)
“Her talk PEPPED us UP.”
Feel better or happier, make someone feel better or happier(separable)
“She was ill in bed with flu, but she PERKED UP a bit when some friends dropped by.”
Lose impetus and stop
“Everyone was keen at first, but the enthusiasm PETERED OUT when they saw how long it would take.”
Introduce gradually(separable)
“They are PHASING IN the reforms over the next two years.”
Remove gradually(separable)
“They have introduced a compact edition of the newspaper and are PHASING OUT the broadsheet edition over the next few months.”
Telephone your place of work to pass on information
“She PHONED IN sick this morning.”
Criticise, find fault(separable)
“The critics PICKED the film APART.”
Eat unwillingly(inseparable)
“I wasn't very hungry so I just PICKED AT my food.”
Target individuals to change a group(separable)
“There were many rebels against the policy, but the government PICKED OFF the leaders.”
Bother, annoy, criticize or make fun of someone(inseparable)
“My friends always PICK ON me because I don't sing well.”
Search something that is disordered for something(inseparable)
“The police have been PICKING THROUGH the wreckage for clues.”
Tidy a mess someone else has made(inseparable)
“I always have to PICK UP AFTER him because he leaves things all over the office.”
Correct someone when they say something wrong(inseparable)
“He's very quick to PICK UP ON new trends.”
Recover from a fall or problem(inseparable)
“It took him a long time to PICK HIMSELF UP after his wife left him.”
Used to tell someone to get lost or leave you alone
“He told them to PIG OFF and leave him in peace.”
Eat a lot
“The food was great, so I really PIGGED OUT.”
Enter a place quickly, in a disorganised way
“The coach stopped and we all PILED IN.”
Enter a place quickly, in a disorganised way(inseparable)
“We PILED INTO the shop when it opened.”
Add or give more or something(separable)
“It wasn't very serious, but they PILED ON the guilt.”
Leave a place quickly, in a disorganised way
“The train eventually arrived and we all PILED OUT.”
Accumulate(separable)
“Work just keeps on PILING UP and I really can't manage to get it all done.”
Get a fixed idea, opinion, etc, from someone(separable)
“I've asked him to set a date, but he's a hard man to PIN DOWN and won't give a definite answer.”
Attach the blame to someone(separable)
“The police tried to PIN the crime ON him.”
Fix something to a wall, or other vertical surface, with a pin(separable)
“How's she PINnING UP after the news?”
Suffer physically because of grief, stress, worry, etc
“He's been PINING AWAY since his wife died and is a shadow of his former self.”
Want or miss something or someone(inseparable)
“The dog's PINING FOR his owner.”
Be quiet (often as an imperative)
“The lecturer asked the students to PIPE DOWN and pay attention.”
Speak, raise your voice
“At first, no one answered, then finally someone PIPED UP.”
Compete or force to compete(separable)
“The war PITTED neighbour AGAINST neighbour.”
Go into the pits (car racing)
“He PITTED OUT in the twentieth lap.”
Try to persuade someone to give your work, business, a job, etc(inseparable)
“He PITCHED FOR the job, but they gave it to someone else.”
Work together to help achieve an objective
“We were behind schedule, but the others PITCHED IN and we got it done in time.”
Criticise severely or attack someone(inseparable)
“The shareholders PITCHED INTO the management about their pay rises at the meeting.”
Put a young plant that has been grown in a pot or greenhouse into the ground(separable)
“They need to be PLANTED OUT in the spring.”
Fill an area with plants or seeds(separable)
“They PLANTED UP the flower beds with geraniums.”
Put food onto a plate to serve
“PLATE UP and drizzle with salsa verde.”
Be silly(inseparable)
“Please stop PLAYING ABOUT.”
Pretend to agree or accept something in order to keep someone happy or to get more information
“I disagreed with the idea but I had to PLAY ALONG because everyone else liked it.”
Be silly
“The children were PLAYING AROUND and being annoying.”
Pretend to be something(inseparable)
“He just PLAYS AT being a lawyer- he never wins a case.”
Be sexually unfaithful when away from home
“He travels abroad a lot and his wife thinks he PLAYS AWAY.”
Listen to or watch something you've recorded(separable)
“We PLAYED the recording BACK to see if it was OK.”
Try to make something seem less important(separable)
“The Government has tried to PLAY DOWN the importance of the minister's resignation.”
Play a game to decide who the winner is(separable)
“As both teams had the same points, they PLAYED OFF to decide the winner.”
Continue playing a sport though there might be a reason to stop(inseparable)
“It looked like a foul, but the referee told them to PLAY ON.”
Behave badly
“The children PLAYED UP all evening and drove the babysitter mad.”
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