carve up v.
1. (orig. US) to destroy, to annihilate completely, esp. in a financial or business context.
Old Hunks in Darkey Drama 5 49: Oh, dar’s such a whopping rat I see in dis berry room not five minutes ago. Dat’s what carved up de chicken in de larder, what you rattened me for. | ||
press cutting in Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 65/2: That dear grave holds a disappointed chap who cum out here from Reno to carve me up. | ||
Whiteoak Heritage (1949) 21: We want to hear how he carved up the Germans. |
2. to attack (and cut) with a razor, a knife or other bladed weapon; also in fig. use.
(con. c.1840) Huckleberry Finn 147: Pa’s got a few buck-shot in him [...] Bob’s been carved up some with a bowie. | ||
Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 21 Dec. 6/3: Elliott went to the house of Carter Hayden [...] and proceeded to carve up five persons. | ||
Wenatchee Dly World (WA) 2 Apr. 4/4: An unknown man was arrested [...] for threatening to carve up several small boys [...] When searched by the cops he gave up a pruning knife. | ||
Day Book (Chicago) 16 Feb. 5/2: The swords went slashing away as if they wanted to carve up the whole neighborhood. | ||
Home to Harlem 285: All these cut-thwoat niggers in Harlem ready to carve up one another foh a li’l’ insisnificant [sic] humpy. | ||
Sharpe of the Flying Squad 55: He seemed very frightened lest the mob should get to know that he was helping me. He feared that they would ‘carve him up’. | ||
Thrilling Detective Jan. 🌐 I’m carving you up, like a Thanksgiving turkey. | ‘Opals Are Unlucky’ in||
Shiralee 51: Didn’t he do time for carving some bloke up. | ||
Daily Mail 18 May in Norman’s London (1969) 95: If the chaps wanted to carve each other up then it was their affair. | in||
Close Quarters (1987) 169: Listen, you shine, we ’bout carved up one jungle bunny t’night. | ||
He Died with His Eyes Open 54: Christ, they din half carve him up. | ||
Guardian Rev.w 18 June 7: Stott and Connolly carve each other up under the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. | ||
Keepers of Truth 22: I ain’t saying any man deserved to be carved up by his son, but you can’t say it wasn’t coming. | ||
Gutted 253: I couldn’t trust he wouldn’t go radge and carve up this Gibby kid. |
3. to swindle, to cheat.
Gilt Kid 54: He had lost seven days’ remission in prison for hitting a cleaner whom he thought to be carving him up over his rations. | ||
No Hiding Place! 190/1: Carve him up. Double-cross him. | ||
in Living Dangerously 166: People on the streets carve you up but they also cover up for you. |
4. (UK Und.) to share out booty, profits etc.
[ | Edinburgh Eve. News 23 Jan. 2/5: Politicians who would go cap in hand to Russia inviting her to carve up the territory of a friendly state, and graciously hand over any scraps that she does not want for herself]. | |
Small Time Crooks 14: Finding that New York territory was already carved up by bigger shots than he, Marc wisely decided to seek his fortune elsewhere. | ||
Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 91: Carve it up any way you fancy as long as one of you gets up there and says the necessary. | ||
Layer Cake 3: Jeremy’s twenty can be carved up between us. | ||
A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun 90: After we had [...] carved up the proceeds, there were smiles all round. | ||
Viva La Madness 301: Ted’s whack would pay for itself; at the moment we’re carving nothing. |
5. of a driver, to force another out of the way through aggressive (and potentially dangerous) driving.
DSUE (8th edn) 186/1: since late 1970s. |
6. to overwhelm, to ‘destroy’.
Observer Rev. 15 Aug. 9: Lenny Bruce went in and carved them [the audience] up. |