1. pass something up
   Transitive, Separable
   Meaning: to decline (usually something good)
   Example: I passed up the job offer because I didn’t want to move.

Did you know that Michael Jordan’s high school basketball coach passed him up?  His coach did not think that he was good enough as a sophomore to play on the varsity team!

1. turn something down
   Transitive, Separable
   Meaning: decrease the volume or strength
   Example: Please turn down the volume.  I am trying to study.

          turn someone/something down
          Transitive, Separable
          Meaning: to reject a proposal
          Example: She turned him down when he asked her on a date.
He turned down the job offer because he didn’t want to move.

Men often fear getting turned down when they ask women out on a date.

Here are some funny pick-up lines that men can try to get a woman’s attention:

Am I dead?  Because I think I’m in heaven.

Do you have a map?  I am lost in your eyes.

I’m new in town.  Could you give me directions to your apartment?

Sit down.  You must be tired.  You’ve been running through my mind all day.

There is something wrong with my eyes.  I can’t take them off you!

Did they just take you out of the oven?
No, why?
Because you’re hot!

Do you believe in love at first sight or do I have to walk by again?

I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?

1. get around to something
   Transitive, Inseparable
   Meaning: finally find time to do something
   Example: I don’t know when I’m going to get around to cleaning the house this week.

Is there something that you’ve been trying to get around to?  Do it today!

1. clean something up
   Transitive / Intransitive, Separable
   Meaning: to make clean or orderly
   Example: Please clean up your bedroom before our guests arrive.

Did you know that your kitchen is the dirtiest room in the house?  Make sure to clean up the kitchen once a day!

Did you know that hairspray can remove marker ink from surfaces?  And club soda can be used to clean sofas!

1. calm down
   Transitive / Intransitive, Inseparable
   Meaning: relax after being angry
   Example: You need to calm down.  I am worried about you.

When I am angry and I need to calm down I like to go to the gym, or go on a bike ride.   What makes you angry?  How do you calm yourself down?

1. take off
   Intransitive
   Meaning: start to fly, depart
   Example: Oh no, I’m going to be late.  My plane takes off in thirty minutes!

2.   take something off
          Transitive, Separable
Meaning: remove an article of clothing
          Example: It is polite to take off your shoes when you enter someone’s house.

Did you know that in China and Japan it is normal for the host to provide slippers for their guests to put on after they take off their shoes?  Additionally, when using a restroom, house slippers are taken off and a different pair, just for the restroom should be used.

In the United States, some people prefer to have guests take their shoes off when entering the house.  It is always a good idea to ask your host, just in case.

In some countries it is also important to take off your coat and hat when you go indoors.

What is normal in your country?

1. tear something up
   Transitive, Separable
   Meaning: to rip into pieces
   Example: I tore up the forms with my personal information before I threw them in the trash.

Not to be confused with:

         “tear up”
          Intransitive
          Meaning: to start to develop tears
          Example: She teared up during the movie.

Did you know that women blink nearly twice as much as men?  Maybe women’s eyes naturally cleanse themselves more often causing them to tear up more easily than men?

On average, women cry about five times a month.  And men cry about once every month or two.  Do you know why?  Women produce more prolactin, the hormone that controls the neurotransmitter receptors in our tear glands.  Women’s tear ducts (the place where tears come from) are anatomically different than male tear ducts, resulting in a larger volume of tears.  Now when I cry I can blame it on biology!

1. break out
   Intransitive
   Meaning: to escape
   Example: The prisoner broke out of jail during the night.

Did you know that almost 1% of adults in the United States have been in jail?   That’s 1 in 100 people!  And about 500 of those prisoners break out per year.

This reminds me of a great movie.  Have you ever seen Shawshank Redemption?

1. warm someone/something up
   Transitive, Separable
   Meaning: to increase the temperature
   Example: You should warm up the soup in the microwave before you eat it.

Did you know that the microwave was discovered by accident?  Percy Spencer, an American engineer was working with magnetrons to create an efficient microwave radio signal when he noticed that the chocolate bar he was saving in his pocket had melted.  He connected the melting of the bar to the machine, so he decided to test his theory by putting popcorn in front of the device.  When he turned it on, the popcorn popped and he came up with (to create) the idea for a microwave.

Thanks to Spencer, we can warm up our food quickly!

    2. warm up
        Intransitive
        Meaning: to prepare body for exercise
        Example: You should warm up for at least ten minutes before you play in the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EIveHwQcgU
This Australian Olympian became famous for her interesting warm-up before a race!