This Word in the English Language Has More Meanings Than Any Other…

… and you could look that up.

A hat-tip to Philip Proctor’s Planet Proctor newsletter for this valuable knowledge.

 WHAT’S UP WIT’ DAT?

 This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is “UP,” listed in the dictionary as an adjective, preposition, adverb, noun and verb.

 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, why are people 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. 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. 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, so look UP the word UP in the dictionary where it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about 30 definitions. Indeed, if you’re 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, the earth soaks it UP, and in a drought, things dry UP. One could go on, but I’ll wrap it UP as my time is UP. And now, it’s UP to you. Don’t screw UP and send this to everyone you look UP in your address book. Now I’ll shut UP.

 

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