There is a two-letter word that perhaps
has more meanings than any other
two-letter word, and that is "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 are the officers UP for election and
why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
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. 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. 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 the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it
takes UP almost 1/4th 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 wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll! wrap it UP, for now my time is UP,
so..........Time to shut UP!
