cut up

You can put the object in the middle or at the end. You can say cut up the meat or cut the meat up. Both are perfect. If you use a pronoun like it or them, it must go in the middle. Always say cut it up. Never say cut up it. That sounds a bit clunky to native ears. You can use it for physical objects like vegetables, wood, or old clothes. It is a very active, physical verb.

Use this in the kitchen every single day. It is the go-to phrase for meal prep. Use it when crafting or doing DIY projects. If you are angry at your bank, you might cut up your credit card. It is also great for parenting. You spend half your life cutting up food into tiny, safe bites. It works well in casual conversation and instructional settings like recipes.

Don't use it for single, clean cuts. If you just slice a piece of cake, you cut a slice. You don't cut up the cake unless you are making it into tiny cubes. Avoid using it for abstract things like budgets or time. You cut a budget, you don't cut it up. Also, be careful with people. In very old slang, to cut someone up meant to hurt them physically or emotionally. Stick to objects to stay safe!

In Western culture, cutting up a credit card is a symbolic act. It represents freedom from debt. You will see this in movies often. There is also a funny, older slang meaning. A cut-up is a person who is a bit of a clown. If your friend is always making jokes, you might say, 'He’s such a cut-up!' It’s a bit old-fashioned now, but you might hear it in classic films.

Chop up is a very close cousin. It feels a bit more aggressive or fast. Dice is the professional chef version. If you are talking about paper, you might say shred. But cut up is the most versatile. It is the 'Swiss Army Knife' of English phrasal verbs. It fits almost everywhere.