cut/tear sth/sb to ribbons
to destroy or badly damage something or someone by cutting or tearing it, him, or her many times:
Our new kitten has torn the living room curtains to ribbons.
figurative The attacking soldiers were cut to ribbons (= killed) by machine gun fire.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Tearing and breaking into pieces
- apart
- asunder
- bobble
- break (sth) off
- breakage
- catch
- fall apart
- flake
- fragmented
- fray
- frayed
- in ribbons idiom
- knacker
- pull
- pull sth apart
- rent
- rip
- shear
- split
- tear sth up
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