UP

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this......How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English???

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There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is "UP."

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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 ?

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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 a report?

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We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

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At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

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To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

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And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP .

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We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !

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To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look UP the word UP in the dictionary.

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In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

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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.

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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 wets UP the earth. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP .

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One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so ....

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Time to shut UP .....!