1) Battles 2) Becomes ragged 3) Becomes tattered 4) Becomes tattered at the edges 5) Begins to come undone 6) Brawls 7) Gets ragged 8) Gets worn a bit 9) Melees 10) Phrase homonym 11) Ravels 12) Scuffles 13) Shows signs of wear 14) Shows wear 15) Shows wear, like an old rope 16) Skirmishes 17) Starts to unravel 1) Melees 2) Wearsout