take (someone) apart

to try to understand a person by examining their personality and character.

That psychiatrist wanted to take me apart to see what makes me tick.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of take something apart (= separate the parts of something)

• make easy meat of something
• make eat their words
• make eat words
• make ends meet
• make eyes at
• make eyes at someone
• make faces
• make feel small
• make flesh crawl
• make flesh creep
• make free with
• make free with something
• make funny faces
• make fun of
• make fun of someone
• make fun of something
• make good
• make good on
• make good on something
• make good someone's something
• make great play of
• make great play of something
• make hair stand on end
• make hard work of
• make hard work of doing something