Idiom of the day :- Tear someone off a strip

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Talk to someone angrily A : The next time I see Charlie I’m going to tear him of a strip. I lent him a book called ‘Improve Your Memory’ and he hasn’t given it back. He’s had it for over a year now. B : Why doesn’t he return it ? A : He says he keeps forgetting. This is based on the Old English verb tear which meant rage/ be violently angry. As is quite common in the evolution of a word, it has become confused with the more modern version, nowadays tear means pull apart/rip.