to tear into
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to tear into someone
Colloquial for speaking very negatively and disparagingly about an absent person. It means to bad-mouth someone or gossip about them.
Ich finde es unmöglich, wie sie auf der Feier über ihre Kollegen hergerissen haben.
I think it's unacceptable how they tore into their colleagues at the party.
'Herreißen' (to tear into) is a separable verb. In a main clause, the prefix 'her-' goes at the end. However, the verb is used almost exclusively in the fixed expression 'über jemanden herreißen' (to tear into someone).
Auf der Party riss die ganze Gruppe über ihren Chef her.
At the party, the whole group tore into their boss.
This verb absolutely requires the preposition 'über' (about/over) with the accusative in order to have the meaning 'to gossip' or 'to bad-mouth'. You cannot simply say 'jemanden herreißen'; you have to say 'über jemanden herreißen' (to tear into someone).
Es ist nicht fair, über abwesende Personen herzureißen.
It isn't fair to tear into people who are absent.
The expression 'über jemanden herreißen' (to tear into someone) clearly belongs to colloquial language. It is rarely used in formal or written contexts.
Hör auf, so über deine Mitschüler herzureißen!
Stop tearing into your classmates like that!
