As
an author, I try to make every written word I use vital to the story I’m
telling. That’s because I can still remember being carried away by books when I
was young girl. Can you remember the first book you ever read? I’m sure it was
magical. Stories can take us to new worlds, broaden our minds, allow us to fall
in love with people we don’t even know. All through the use of the right words.
The
English language is pretty amazing, and some words do double and triple duty
(and sometimes even more than that). But every now and then, it’s fun to get
silly with English words. Like with the word “up.” Someone recently sent me
this funny-but-true email I thought I’d share with you. I have no idea who
originated this (or who did the research) but kudos to them:
“UP. This tiny, two-letter word can
be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb or preposition.
It's easy to understand “up”
meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we wake 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, 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 different meanings. 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 something special.
And this “up” is
confusing: A drain must be opened “up” because it is stopped “up.”
To be knowledgeable about the proper
uses of “up,” look “up” the word “up” in the dictionary. It
can add “up” to about thirty definitions.
When it threatens to rain, we say the
sky is clouding “up.” When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing “up.”
When it rains, the earth soaks it “up.” When it does not rain for a while,
things dry “up.”
One could go on and on, but I'll
wrap it “up” for now.”
 |
| Courtesy Disney Pixar |
Okay,
I’m back. I know that was a silly little exercise, but for me it really was an
eye-opener in the many ways the English language can amaze us. No wonder
foreign-speaking people find English so difficult to master! The clue in a recent
Jumble in my local newspaper said, “When a tiger escaped from the zoo, there
would be this until there was this.” The answer? “Apprehension.” See how tricky
the English language can be?
I
love words. Every author should. Words are powerful.
How
about you? Was there a book you read that was so powerful you can remember it
even to this day?
Leigh
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