Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
#25493 03/31/01 01:20 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
"Up" gets into some idioms that are hard to explain. For instance "I won't put up with that."

This calls to mind that when something--a jar, or a notebook, maybe--is put up, that carries the connotation that it is shut away, behind a closed door perhaps, and won't be brought out into the open in the immediate future.
So maybe when someone says they won't put up with that, they
mean that they DO intend to bring it out into the open, and soon.

And that reminds me of 'put up or shut up'.


#25494 03/31/01 03:36 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
N
addict
Offline
addict
N
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
How about "Let's wind up this meeting" and "The meeting was winding down"? Wind it up or wind it down, it's still gonna be over soon.


#25495 03/31/01 03:57 AM
A
Anonymous
Unregistered
Anonymous
Unregistered
A
the more i see the examples offered forth in this thread, the more it seems that "UP" is simply an indicator of anything on the "positive" side of the spectrum; ie -depending, of course, on context - more (speed up, add up), attainment of a goal of sorts (wrap up, finish up, follow up), putting forth (pipe up, cough up, throw up), compliance with an imperative or expectation (shut up, ante up),front or pinnacle (head up, lead up), the state of being contemporary or current (whasssssssssssup, coming up) and even more intangibly indicating a definitive action (used up, broke up).

that being said, i'm wondering if there's a usage of 'up' that doesn't follow this general pattern (or have i simply forced a pattern where one does not exist? it seems clear in *my* mind, but that's not necessarily saying much)

can someone come up with a better explanation?

[wondering-if-tsuwm-would-mind-lending-me-his-ron-obvious-tag-e]

#25496 03/31/01 10:58 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Sometimes it seems like the shorter the word, the longer the dictionary entry.

>do any of you OEDers have a way to search for the *longest* dictionary entry? anyone want to hazard a guess?


Somewhere out there, there is a whole dictionary which is devoted to the one word in the English language which has no letters at all. You know, the one which everyone has trouble spelling?






The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#25497 03/31/01 12:30 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
P
addict
Offline
addict
P
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
And has anybody ever 'buttoned up' an overcoat or indeed any item of clothing?


#25498 03/31/01 12:51 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
I
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
<<the word with no letters at all>>

And the page it graces is the one much poetry would approach and can only approximate--the poem delineating the silence, much as landscape does the white space in certain Asian art.


#25499 03/31/01 01:43 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439

This page left blank on purpose



#25500 03/31/01 03:05 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
I always button up my overcoat from the bottom-up!

If one lifts their beer up high as they take a swig, one effectively matches the literal "bottoms-up"... but will this always be based on ones relation to gravity?


#25501 03/31/01 04:42 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 86
S
journeyman
Offline
journeyman
S
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 86
I really hate to "bring this UP" and, in fact, rather expected that, by now, someone else (e.g. "____" or "______" or even "_______" would have done. However, that hasn't happened, and therefore, since AWADers prefer to treat a subject fully, I will do so myself, as discreetly as the circumstances permit. Perhaps it will suffice if I mention that cult, - not farmers - who have a culture, almost religious in nature, (e.g. fertility rites) sometimes called "Viagraculture", its priests and priestesses being called "Viagraculturalists." Don't you just love their heartwarming commercials? Carry on, lads.


#25502 03/31/01 05:47 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
up has seven(7) entries [headwords] in the OED: 1 noun (7 senses), 1 verb (8 senses), 1 adj (6), 2 adv (33, 21), 2 prep (10, 7); for a total of 92 senses. I will not paste it all up.

{up the revolution.}

---

what's up with the comic quiz? I am not the owl. I am either eeyore or daffy duck.

---

rhyme parody up:

I think that I shall never hear
a poem as lovely as a beer
...
for poems are writ by fools I fear
and only Schlitz can make a beer
-Alfred E. Neuman

---
[nod to ASp for all-in-one® postaday™]


Page 2 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 674 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5