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"UP"
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That word 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.
At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now. . . my time is UP!
Oh. . . one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?
U
P!
Did that crack you UP?
Now I'll shut UP
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.
At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now. . . my time is UP!
Oh. . . one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?
U
P!
Did that crack you UP?
Now I'll shut UP
Answers
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Such 'up' phrasal verbs as wake up, write up, end up and so on date back to at least the 1100s in English, with 'give up', meaning 'surrender' being the oldest recorded. There are many of them that seem to have no rhyme or reason behind them, given that they have no 'directional' quality to them whatever. And there is further confusion in that, in several cases, the 'up' can be replaced by 'down'. "It's up to you" means pretty-well the same as "It's down to you" in certain situations in modern British usage, for example.
The simple answer, therefore, is that there is no real relevance other than the great god 'usage'. It's here to stay!
The simple answer, therefore, is that there is no real relevance other than the great god 'usage'. It's here to stay!
Back to pedantry corner - OED short definitions - Just say if you need the full text.... :-)
1. U.P. in U, n.1 1864
...United Presbyterian....
2. U.P. in U, n.1 view full entry 1908
...United Provinces (of Agra and Oudh, India), now, Uttar Pradesh....
3. U.P. in U, n.1 1915
...United Press....
4. U.P. in U, n.1 1943
...United Party (spec. of South Africa)....
5. U.P. in U, n.1 1838
...slang or colloq.U.P....
6. up, n. 1536
...One who or that which is up, in various senses. rare....
7. up, adj. a1400
...Dwelling up-country....
8. up, v. 1560-1
...To drive up and catch (swans, etc.) so as to provide with the mark of ownership. Cf. upping1 ? Obs....
9. up, adv.1 c825
...To or towards a point or place higher than another and lying directly (or almost directly) above it; so as to raise or bring, come or tend, to or towards a highter...
10. up, adv.2 c897
...At some distance above the ground or earth; high in the air; on high; aloft....
11. † up, prep.1 c960
...So as to reach, or be on, by ascension....
12. up, prep.2 1509
...From a lower to a higher point on or along (an ascent); so as to ascend or mount (a stair, slope, etc.)....
13. up-, prefix a1200
...In comb. with ns. (except as in 3d3e)....
14. -up, suffix
...The adverb up appended to vbs. (ns., etc.) as a suffix forming substantival or adjectival compounds (usu. derived from a simple vbl. phr.: see upII.), implying an...
1. U.P. in U, n.1 1864
...United Presbyterian....
2. U.P. in U, n.1 view full entry 1908
...United Provinces (of Agra and Oudh, India), now, Uttar Pradesh....
3. U.P. in U, n.1 1915
...United Press....
4. U.P. in U, n.1 1943
...United Party (spec. of South Africa)....
5. U.P. in U, n.1 1838
...slang or colloq.U.P....
6. up, n. 1536
...One who or that which is up, in various senses. rare....
7. up, adj. a1400
...Dwelling up-country....
8. up, v. 1560-1
...To drive up and catch (swans, etc.) so as to provide with the mark of ownership. Cf. upping1 ? Obs....
9. up, adv.1 c825
...To or towards a point or place higher than another and lying directly (or almost directly) above it; so as to raise or bring, come or tend, to or towards a highter...
10. up, adv.2 c897
...At some distance above the ground or earth; high in the air; on high; aloft....
11. † up, prep.1 c960
...So as to reach, or be on, by ascension....
12. up, prep.2 1509
...From a lower to a higher point on or along (an ascent); so as to ascend or mount (a stair, slope, etc.)....
13. up-, prefix a1200
...In comb. with ns. (except as in 3d3e)....
14. -up, suffix
...The adverb up appended to vbs. (ns., etc.) as a suffix forming substantival or adjectival compounds (usu. derived from a simple vbl. phr.: see upII.), implying an...
jem
Phrasal verbs are Germanic in origin and are used in informal speech and texts. There is a more formal version of the phrase (Latinate) used in formal texts, etc.
If you say them out loud, you'll notice that the stress is on the particle (in this case 'up').
The most common verbs used with particles are break, bring, call, carry, come, do, fall, get, go, keep, look, make, put, run, set, take, turn
Now it's UP to you.
Phrasal verbs are Germanic in origin and are used in informal speech and texts. There is a more formal version of the phrase (Latinate) used in formal texts, etc.
If you say them out loud, you'll notice that the stress is on the particle (in this case 'up').
The most common verbs used with particles are break, bring, call, carry, come, do, fall, get, go, keep, look, make, put, run, set, take, turn
Now it's UP to you.
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