to cut short: to make shorter, to interrupt Examples of TO CUT SHORT The moderator asked the speaker to cut short his talk because there wasn’t much time remaining for questions from the audience. We were very unfortunate when we received bad news from home that forced us to cut our trip short.

for the time being: temporarily (also: for now) Examples of FOR THE TIME BEING For the time being, you’ll need to get extra rest, until you’re healthy again. The project was almost done, but for the time being, it was horrible.

to tear up: to rip into small pieces Examples of TO TEAR UP Let’s tear up the rule book and just do our own thing! Reports said he tore up the check and threw some of the pieces out of the window.

to call up: to telephone (also: to give some one a call) Examples of CALL UP I want to call up my dad and wish him a happy Father’s Day. You need to call up your four o’clock appointment and confirm he’ll be there.

to clear up: to make understandable (also: to straighten out); to become sunny Examples of TO CLEAR UP – The teacher tried to clear up our confusion about the meaning of the difficult paragraph in the reading.– It’s rather cloudy this morning. Do you think that it will clear up later?

to cheer up: to make happier, to feel less sad Examples of TO CHEER UP We all tried to cheer up the little boy when he stared to cry. After the death of Deanne’s husband, it was difficult to cheer her up at all.