eat up

eat someone up 

1. . Lit. to consume the flesh of someone. The big bad wolf said he was going to eat you up! The bear ate up the fish.

2. Fig. [for an idea] to consume a person. The whole idea of visiting Australia was just eating her up. The obsession to own a car was eating up my brother and his friends.

3. Fig. [for insects] to bite a person all over. These mosquitoes are just eating me up! The bugs literally ate up all the hikers.

4. Fig. [for someone] to overwhelm and devastate someone. The guy is a devil! He just eats up people! Fred will just eat you up. He is a vicious administrator.

See also: eat, up

eat something up 

1. . and eat an animal up Lit. to devour all of some food or an animal. They ate the turkey up, and no one had to eat leftovers. The lion ate up the zebra very quickly.

2. Fig. to consume something rapidly, such as money. Running this household eats my income up. The car really eats up gas.

3. Fig. to believe something. Those people really eat that stuff up about tax reduction. They'll eat up almost anything you tell them.

4. Fig. to appreciate something. The audience liked my singing; they really ate it up. The stuff about the federal budget went over well. They really ate up the whole story.

See also: eat, up

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eat you up (spoken)

to spoil your life The danger of a busy professional life is that it will eat you up.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of eat something up (to use something so there is little or nothing left)

See also: eat, up