Problems & Solutions

Phrasal verbs for challenges and fixes

Introduction

Problems are inevitable, and so are the phrasal verbs we use to discuss them. Issues "come up," plans "fall through," and we must "deal with" whatever life throws at us. The good news? We can also "sort out" difficulties and "get through" tough times.

This chapter covers the phrasal verbs of problem-solving: identifying issues, handling difficulties, finding solutions, and recovering from setbacks.

Themes

All Phrasal Verbs in This Chapter (57)

• come up To arise or occur unexpectedly
• fall through To fail to happen as planned
• mess up To make a mistake or ruin something
• act up To behave badly or malfunction
• play up To cause problems or malfunction (British)
• screw up To make a serious mistake
• cock up To spoil something by doing it badly (British)
• run into To encounter problems unexpectedly
• back out To withdraw from a commitment
• pack in To stop working or break down; to quit
• turn out To have a particular result
• come apart To break into pieces; to fail
• give out To stop working; to distribute
• come undone To become unfastened; to fail or fall apart
• cave in To collapse; to yield under pressure
• slip up To make a small mistake
• backfire To have the opposite effect to what was intended
• break down To analyze into smaller parts
• paper over To hide problems without solving them
• wriggle out of To avoid responsibility through cunning
• work out To have a successful result
• sort itself out To resolve without intervention
• smooth over To make a problem seem less serious
• get out of To avoid a responsibility
• see to To deal with something
• get around To avoid or find a way past
• pin down To identify precisely
• stumble on To discover accidentally
• fall into To get into a bad situation
• get into To become involved in problems
• end up To finish in a situation
• deal with To handle a problem
• cope with To manage difficulties
• grapple with To struggle with a problem
• wrestle with To struggle with something difficult
• contend with To deal with difficulties
• live with To accept an ongoing problem
• talk through To discuss to resolve
• patch up To fix temporarily
• cover up To hide or conceal
• brush aside To dismiss concerns
• shrug off To dismiss casually
• write off To abandon as a loss
• pull back To retreat or withdraw
• string along To delay or deceive
• get by To manage with difficulty
• muddle through To manage somehow
• come through To succeed despite difficulty
• stick it out To persevere
• sit out To wait through something
• wait out To wait for something to pass
• push through To succeed despite obstacles
• nip in the bud To stop early
• root out To find and remove
• weed out To remove unwanted elements
• spiral out of control To become unmanageable
• blow over To pass without lasting effect