1
general::
Phrase(s): work something up into something
to develop something into something. • I will work this story up into a screenplay in a few months. • I can work up this idea into a good novel., Phrase(s): work oneself up into something
1. Lit. to struggle to raise oneself upward into something or some place. • I worked myself up into the top of the tree. • I worked myself up into the rafters of the barn and couldn’t get down. 2. Fig. to bring oneself into an extreme emotional state. • I worked myself up into a state of hysteria. • Don’t work yourself up into hysteria.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs