eat someone alive —(coll., also: eat someone for breakfast)
1. rebuke or criticize smb. severely:
- The evolutionists will eat me alive for this, but doesn’t the intricate design of our world allow for the possibility of a creator?
2. overwhelm, harm, or thoroughly defeat a person:
- Yes, they ate us alive but allow me to lay down some reasons why it was still an awesome game that we played!
eat someone up—
1. (coll.) acclaim a person’s stage performance:
- Wait until you see the way they’re going to eat me up in the court scene in “Saint Elba.”
2. = eat someone alive 2:
- Others would not fail to make themselves greater or stronger by eating up their neighbors.
3. (of jealousy, desire, etc.) torment a person (often Passive):
- His drawings and a school essay hinted at the despair that was eating him up.