Grammar Discussions

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UP



This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is '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 are the officers UP for election 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!



Don't screw UP. Send this on to everyone you look UP in your address book . . . Or not . . . it's UP to you.
 
Next you'll all be talking about SET. There can be 464 definitions apparently.
 
I've just come across this little gem in The Age's 'Green Guide' this week. It's a preview written about a show called 'Kingdom' which is set in the world of mixed martial arts.

The full para: "The old hothead can still pack a punch, though, which he shows tonight by laying out a couple of local gang members in the street. It's a brief moment of satisfaction for Alvey but it sets off a Newton's cradle of repercussions for the family"

Really? Obviously the writer is referring to one of Newton's Laws of Motion but despite my searching through reference books I can't find any mention of 'cradle'. Then I had a lightbulb moment - is that what they call those little toys - the stand with suspended balls which illustrates the Law?

Having read the remainder of the journo's page and some fine examples of purple prose elsewhere in the GG, I urge any AFF'er needing a laugh to check it out
 
Yes that's the thingy I mean. Thanks. Still a rather obscure - and trying to show off! - reference. Easier to have said 'retaliation' or 'chain of events'.
 
Given that the motion of a Newton's cradle decreases with time, is that a reference to a series of retaliation events that diminish in significance with each round? Doesn't sound like very good TV.
 
I have just seen a letter received by a family member re some stuffing around that the ANZ did on her income insurance. They wrote to her to apologise for the "incontinence" they had caused.
 
An appalling paragraph from Hilton:
*If you've already updated your password on or after March 10, 2015, no further action is necessary. Your Points will be bonused in the coming weeks.

Why not just say they will be posted?
 
An appalling paragraph from Hilton:

... bonused ...

Why not just say they will be posted?
Interesting ... My android spell checker recognised (even proffered) that word, so it's in the dictionary.

It's a lovely word IMHO and in this context saves 12 characters; multiply that saving by the number of emails likely to have been sent and think of the possible savings in resource.

Toss .. Tossed ...

Bonus .. Bonused ...
 

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