Crossword Genius

Scold furiously, but not irate, surprisingly (4,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tear into

'scold furiously' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'not irate surprisingly' is the wordplay.
'surprisingly' indicates anagramming the letters (a surprising ordering of the letters).
'not'+'irate'='notirate'
'notirate' is an anagram of 'TEAR INTO'.

'but' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for tear into that I've seen before include "handbag" , "Scold furiously" , "Attack verbally" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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