In this case the phrase is a more artistic way of describing the beginning of a fight. Think of &quot;John set upon Mike angrily&quot; as John set, or selected, Mike as his target.<p>It&#x27;s also a great example of the topic at hand because the same phrase could be used like &quot;The book was set upon the table.&quot; Describing a book that was placed on a table.<p>Each version uses the same common vocabulary, to describe wildly different things.