Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English.
I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.

Today’s phrasal verb is chew out. When you chew someone out, it means you scold them strongly - usually because they did something wrong or made a big mistake. It’s a very informal, very American way to say “tell someone off.”

• Like yesterday in the office, my manager chewed out the team because the report wasn’t finished on time.
• And my friend Olivia got chewed out by her mom for coming home too late.
• Even I got chewed out once - I forgot to reply to an important email, and the client was not happy.

Here’s a pronunciation tip: chew out sounds like choo-wout. The W sound in chew links with out.

So how about you? Has anyone ever chewed you out - or maybe you had to chew someone out?
Let me know in the comments, and remember to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next week’s Phrasal Verbs in a Minute.
 
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