Phrasal verbs and idioms in context - Lession 7: Sergio

PHRASALVERBS AND IDIOMS IN CONTEXT 07
SERGIO
 Sergio Esposito was known throughout his tiny town, on the outskirts of Naples, for his violent outbursts. He’d never been able to control his temper for as far back as anyone could remember.
 Recently he’d beaten up his ex girlfriend Gianna in a fit of jealous rage all because she’d rejected his attempts to bully her into changing the way she dressed.
 He seethed at the way other guys eyed her up and thought it would all end if she were to stop wearing those skimpy little dresses she was always to be seen parading around in. Not only, he’d even tried to stop her from seeing the friends she’d known most of her life.
 ‘If you loved me you’d spend all your time with me,’ is what he’d told her on numerous occasions.
 This had led to non-stop arguments and it didn’t take long for the relationship to go right downhill, just months after they first met.
 After the beating Gianna hadn’t wanted to report him but her father Mr De Longo, a respectable lawyer of excellent repute, had eventually made his daughter come to her senses.
 ‘You can’t condone this kind of behaviour,’ said Mr De Longo. ‘Who the heck does he think he is? He’s nothing but an insecure manipulating fool. This is the kind of guy you need to avoid like the plague; run from him – in the opposite direction without ever looking back. No second chances. For goodness’s sake girl! You’re only twenty four years of age. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t waste one more second of your time even thinking about this good for nothing. Yes, you’ll have to kiss quite a few
frogs before you find your prince but it’s time to kiss this one goodbye – right out of your life. No turning back – no regrets. Is that clear?’
 ‘I know papa. I know. I have left him. How was I to know he would follow me around and then viciously attack me?’ Gianna burst into tears again. She was still shaken and filled with terror thinking back to that moment. She could still see that demonic look in his eyes as he beat her black and blue.
 How could the boy she’d loved and shared such tender moments with turn into such a fiend? She turned to her father.
 ‘Papa I’m afraid to report him. You never know what he might do. He may seek his revenge.’
 ‘Not if I have anything to do with it my girl,’ said Mr De Longo. ‘He’s a twenty five year old immature twat. He doesn’t scare me. I’ve been in contact with some of the most hardened criminals in my time and the majority are nothing but cowards. Now let’s get down to the hospital shall we and then get off to the police station. I can assure you he’s not going to get away with using violence on my daughter. Make no mistake about it.’
 Gianna loved her father very dearly and eventually agreed to go with him and her mother to the hospital and then on to the police station to give a statement.
 ‘That way he’ll learn his lesson once and for all. If not, who knows who his next victim might be - if she lives to tell the tale,’ added Elsa De Longo, Gianna’s mother.
 The doctor at the hospital said that Gianna had had a lucky escape.
 ‘If you ask me, he’s nothing but one of the many sociopaths poisoning our society,’ said Doctor De Vito.
‘A couple of weeks and she’ll be on the mend, though she will be traumatized for quite some time. It’s not something a young lady, or anyone for that matter, can easily get over. Keep her away from this piece of vermin.
 No contact whatsoever and make sure you do report him. Don’t let her talk you out of it, which is usually the case with victims of such cowardly bullying acts.’
 Next the De Longos headed for the police station. Mr De Longo gave a statement then showed the sergeant the hospital report and his daughter’s bruises.
‘All this because my daughter loves to wear feminine clothes,’ said Mr De
Longo. ‘Completely normal for a girl of her age wouldn’t you say? That
piece of scum is a public danger if you ask me.’
 Esposito was summoned down to the station where he at first denied having anything to do with the bruises Gianna bore on her slender body.
 Upon questioning, his alibi didn’t hold.
 ‘Could you tell me of your whereabouts last Tuesday evening?’ asked the sergeant.
 ‘I was in Via Corso.’
 ‘For what reason?’
 ‘I was in the snooker hall with a couple of friends.’
 ‘And what were you doing in the snooker hall?’
 ‘Playing snooker – what else do people do in a snooker hall?’
 ‘None of your lip boy. Give me the names of those friends.’
 Esposito stuttered and stammered and eventually came out with two names; Giovanni and Peppe.
 ‘And their surnames?’
 Esposito had a “momentary memory lapse” and was unable to recall the surnames of his friends.
 Sergeant Corvini typed out Esposito’s statement and proceeded to pay a visit to the snooker hall.
 At first the proprietor, Mr Danese, said that he could not recall who had been in his snooker hall the previous Tuesday evening at around 6 p.m.
 ‘Well I suppose you won’t mind handing over the CCTV footage sir,’ said the sergeant.
 ‘I think the cameras were switched off that evening sir.’
 ‘You think or you know for sure?’
 ‘I think.’
 ‘You do know I can issue a warrant for the seizure of the CCTV system if you refuse to allow me access to the data.’
 Mr Danese reluctantly handed over the footage.
 Back at the station the sergeant and two of his men examined it closely.
 There were no signs of either Esposito or his friends in or around the snooker hall at that time or anytime between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. for that matter.
 Esposito had blatantly lied to the police and would later be charged with attempting to distort the course of justice.
 Next the sergeant headed on down to the library. Gianna had reported being dragged by the hair and bundled into Esposito’s car as she left the library on the evening of the beating.
 The librarian gave a statement.
 ‘I heard a scream and when I went to the window I saw a girl, who’d been here moments before, being shoved into a car.’
 ‘Can you describe the girl and the person, or should I say the beast, who hauled her away in his car?’
 ‘I’ve seen the girl here quite often. She sits over in that corner studying whenever she comes here. I have her name registered on the computer system if you want, but anyway, she is tall and slim with short dark hair and almond shaped eyes. I saw her right in front of me here in the library moments before she left.’
 ‘And the one who pushed her into the car?
 The librarian knew who the boy was but she also knew he was not the most recommendable of people so she didn’t let on to the sergeant out of fear of retaliation although she did give an approximate description of him.
 ‘Yes. He was around about the same age as the girl. She looked about twentyish and so did he. He was a few inches taller than she was with short dark curly hair and dark skin.’
 ‘Do you remember what they were wearing?’
 ‘The girl had on a beautiful short floral dress and cream coloured shoes. She reminded me of Isabella Rosellini in her younger years.’
 ‘And the boy, or should I say the beast?’
 ‘He had on a bright turquoise shirt with the sleeves rolled up and both his arms were covered in tattoos.’
 ‘What else can you remember?’
 ‘That’s all.’
 ‘What about the car?’
 ‘Sorry. I don’t remember the make or the colour of the car.’
 ‘Why didn’t you call the police?’
 ‘I thought it was just the usual lover’s tiff.’
 ‘Okay Madam. Thank you.’
 The sergeant was heading out of the library when the librarian called him back.
 ‘Sergeant, I hope nothing terrible has happened to that lovely young girl.’
 ‘Don’t worry. She’s still alive and kicking but the next time you see anything like this, call the station and report it. Don’t take it as lightly as you did this time. Somebody’s life could depend on your swift actions.’
‘Yes, of course Sergeant.’
 Rina Rossi knew she should have reported the incident but she was afraid to get involved in such matters. She suddenly felt afraid in case she had “talked too much”. After all, she was in that library all day every day and often on her own. She had no wish to live in fear of being on the receiving end of some madman’s revenge.
 Her father Gabriele had rammed it in to her to always mind her own business and never to get involved. He knew only too well of the consequences of such actions. His own father Peppino had been shot dead after giving a testimony when Gabriele was just fourteen years old. Rina had never met her grandfather but had seen the pain in her father’s eyes each time he’d spoken about him.
 Esposito had driven Gianna to a quiet spot and after hurling her with verbal abuse had proceeded to violently attack her. He’d told her that any mention of the incident to anyone and she’d be dead.
 ‘How dare she think she could just dump him and report him is what Esposito told his friends down at the local bar where they all hung out.
 They’d agreed with him. They never went against a word he said; they knew better. 
 Not long after the reporting came the stalking. Everywhere Gianna went, Esposito would be lurking about watching her with that menacing look about him. She’d received threatening text messages demanding that she drop the charges against him.
 Once again Gianna’s father stepped in. He suggested they get a restraining order against Esposito. Gianna was afraid but after some persuasion, she reluctantly went to the local courtroom with her father.
 After filling out several forms they filed the order. The hearing was set for two weeks later.
GLOSSARY – PHRASAL VERBS
Account for – explain/give a reason for
Beat (someone) up – physically attack causing injury
Bring up (a child) – raise from childhood to adulthood
Bully (someone) into doing (something) – use bullying methods to force a person to do something
Bundle (someone) into (something) – push someone into something as though he/she were a large package
End up – be or do something in the end/an unplanned end result of something/eventually
Eye (someone) up – slowly observe a person from head to toe to make a judgment, usually implies sexual interest
Get over (something or someone) – recover from
Go by – pass
Grow out of (something) – not do something anymore because one has reached a certain level of maturity
Grow up – grow from a baby to an adult
Hand over – a demand to surrender something to someone
Hang out – pass time in a particular place usually with friends
Have on – to be wearing
Head for – go in the direction of
Head on out – start to go out
Let on – reveal information/disclose/admit that you know something
Lurk about – remain in wait in a concealed place such as the shadows or
behind a bush to ambush a person when the moment is right
Nag at (someone) – to complain in an irritating way, usually to obtain what you want
Pick up – fetch from a place
Ram into – if you ram something into someone you force the person to accept an idea by continuously repeating it until it enters into his/her head
Rub off on (someone) – be mentally transferred to someone by constant contact
Smash up – angrily break into pieces
Step in – to take control of a situation
Switch off – interrupt the flow of energy needed to make a device function
Take over – take control of
Talk (someone) out of (something) – persuade someone not to do something
Turn into – transform
(*||*)
~
GLOSSARY – IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS
A lover’s tiff – a silly argument between lovers
A lucky escape – to narrowly avoid danger
After all – reinforces and supports what was said before by giving an additional reason
Alive and kicking – alive and well
As different as chalk and cheese – complete opposites/having no similarities
Avoid like the plague – avoid at all costs
Be at (someone’s) beck and call – always ready to obey and attend to the needs of someone like some kind of servant
Be in (one’s) glory – be extremely happy and excited about something
Be not getting any younger – advancing in one’s years, becoming much older
Be on the mend – recovering from an illness or injury
Be on the receiving end – to have unpleasantness directed at you
Be over the moon – be overcome by happiness and delight
Be short-lived – to be short-lasting/not last for long
Cater to a person’s every need – provide a person with everything they ask for to the point of overindulgence
Come to (one’s) senses – finally begin to reason
Cross (one’s) path – encounter by chance
Drop the charges (against someone) – withdraw an official accusation of a crime or an offence committed against you
For that matter – used to specify that a subject or category, is as relevant as the one previously mentioned
Get (one’s) own way – succeed in making others allow you to do/have what you want/cause others to succumb to your wishes
Give (someone) a good talking to – to sternly speak to someone in order to make the person understand that his/her actions are completely unacceptable
Go downhill – deteriorate
Go in one ear and out the other – quickly forget due to paying little or no attention to what is being said
If you ask me – if you want my opinion
Live to tell the tale – this is a common expression used when a person is in a dangerous situation and is able to survive it to tell it to others
Look like butter wouldn’t melt in (one’s) mouth – used to describe someone who appears innocent on the surface but in actual fact is devious and cunning under the facade
Make no mistake about it – this expression is used to emphasise that what you are saying is completely true and there is absolutely no doubt about it, often used as a warning
None of your lip – an invitation to a person to decline from answering in such a disrespectful manner
Once and for all – for the final time, irrefutably
Quite some time – a rather long period of time
Remand in custody – kept in prison pending a trial at the courthouse
Twist/wrap (someone) right round (one’s) little finger – use charm to gain complete control over a person to make them do whatever you want them to do
Go in one ear and out the other.
alive and kicking