What's up with "UP"?

(What's Bugs Bunny UP to now?)

The English word UP has more meanings than any other two-letter word and is listed in the dictionary as:

adjective
adverb
noun
preposition
verb

We all know UP means toward the sky, but why do we say we wake UP in the morning?

Why does a topic come UP at a meeting?

Why do we speak UP?

Why are officers UP for election, and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

People stir UP trouble, line UP for movie tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

George Carlin

And some people are stand UP comedians.

To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP has a completely different meaning.

After an argument, we kiss and make UP. 

We seem to be mixed UP about UP!

A clogged-UP drain must be opened UP.

We open UP a store in the morning, but we close it UP at night.

And what could she be UP to?

I could go on and on, but my time is UP, so I'll wrap UP this post.

If you want to continue this list, it's UP to you!

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This was also written UP more than a decade ago and posted on this blog.  Hmm, counting the title and illustrations, how many times have I used UP in this post?  I love words, especially this one!

Oh, wait!  I just thought of another example!  Have you ever told a horse, even a pretend horse when you were a child, to "Giddy UP"?

Word of the Day

giddy up <gid·​dy·​ap ˌgid-ē-əp> = a command to a horse to go ahead or go faster.

Playing with words

Yes, I must admit that I blogged about this word a couple of weeks ago.  But that was a quiz, and this illustration is humorously redefining a word.  I have never called myself a bookkeeper.  Usually when I'm being silly, I say, "I'm a bookie!"  That puzzles folks who (I'm sure) cannot imagine me as either a bookie or a bookkeeper.  How dull it is to say simply that "I love to read," when I can also be funny.  Wait!  Did you just roll your eyes?

Word quiz

I know, I know!!  Okay, I confess that I've seen this before, but I know the word.  Do you?

Words from W-E-A-T-H-E-R, an update

Flooding seen right outside my apartment window after heavy rain in 2011.

"What words can you make with the letters in WEATHER?" I posted on this blog, after Toni and Sandy and I had come up with a dozen or so words using those letters.  People left comments, and we discovered that "weather" is full of other words, which just kept coming to our minds:

• Toni:  ate, we, her, the, wet, wrath
• Bonnie:  wreath, thaw, haw, hew, hat, hare, heat, hear
• Sandy:  wheat, wart, heart, wrath
• Bonnie:  awe, raw, war, hate, eat, tea, awe, were, ware
• Genies:  thaw, what, wear, rate, threw
• Bonnie:  there, haw, whee, what, whet
• Carolyn:  wheat, what, the, rat, eat, there, her, here
• Bonnie:  at, art, ear, wee, taw, tar, ether
• Jenn:  where, heart, eater, water, reheat, wreathe, ether, earth, whereat, hewer
• Shon:  we, eat, her, at, the

Some words in the list may be repeated, but these people were not seeing what others had sent me.  We were all having a grand time.  If you want to sort out the words and tell us a final tally, please do.  The letters W-E-A-T-H-E-R make a lot of other words!  It feels like a "million" words to me (yes, I am exaggerating).

Toni wrote, "It said five, so I stopped my brain at six !!!! amor."  ("Amor" is the Spanish word, which means "love" in English.)  Toni was quoting the post we'd found on Facebook, which suggested we try to make five words from the letters in WEATHER.  Even though she screeched to a stop, she couldn't help sliding right into that sixth word before she could stop herself.  Way to go, Toni!!!  I admit that I kept coming back to it again and again, and so did others.

If anyone finds another word (or two or three or four), let me know and I'll add them to our list.  Notice that I highlighted wreathe and whereat.  Those two words use all seven letters in W-E-A-T-H-E-R.  Ding, ding, ding!  Jenn is definitely a word whiz!

Words from Weather

My friends Toni and Sandy and I have come up with two dozen words from these letters so far.  What words can you make with the letters in WEATHER?  Leave a word or more in the comments.  Weather is definitely a "wondrous word."  I'll start with a tiny word:

1.  at

2.  ate

3.  tea

Update:  I just discovered my friend Genies came up with five more words.   Also, my friends Carolyn and Jenn added another dozen words (before I posted this on my blog).  Hurray to Genies, Carolyn, and Jenn!

Update #2:  People kept coming back to share more words, so here are words that people made and shared (I'll post this in early May, also):

Toni:  ate, we, her, the, wet, wrath
Bonnie:  wreath, thaw, haw, hew, hat, hare, heat, hear

Sandy:  wheat, wart, heart, wrath 

Genies:  thaw, what, wear, rate, threw

Bonnie:  awe, raw, war, hate, eat, tea, awe, were, ware

Carolyn:  wheat, what, the, rat, eat, there, her, here

Bonnie:  there, haw, whee, what, whet

Jenn:  where, heart, eater, water, reheat, wreathe, ether, earth, whereat, hewer

Wreathe and whereat both use ALL the letters.  Ding, ding, ding!  Jenn wins Facebook today!  She is definitely the Queen of Words today!

Bonnie:  at, art, ear, wee, taw, tar, ether

Shon:  we, eat, her, at, the

Some may be repeated, but none of these people had seen what the others sent me.  We were all having a grand time.  If you want to sort out the words and tell us a final number, please do.  The letters in W-E-A-T-H-E-R make a lot of other words!  It feels like they can make a "million" words.  Toni wrote, "It said five, so I stopped my brain at six !!!! amor."  She was quoting the post we'd found on Facebook, which suggested we try to make five words from the letters in WEATHER.  Even though she screeched to a stop, she couldn't help finding that sixth word.  Way to go, Toni!

If anyone finds another word (or two or three or four), let me know and I'll add them to our list.

Well-being

Word of the Day

well-be·ing / ˈˌwel ˈˌbēiNG / noun = the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.  Example:  "We will feel an improvement in our well-being when this pandemic is over!"

For your information

There is not usually a hyphen in the word wellbeing in the United Kingdom and Australia, but speakers in the United States and Canada prefer having a hyphen, as I did in the title.  The illustration above comes from the folks at Action for Happiness, which is located in England.

Here's the link to Elza Reads, where people used to

share links to their Wondrous Words Wednesday posts.

Before that, Kathy at Bermuda Onion hosted it.

Paraprosdokian ~ with examples

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader to reinterpret the first part.  Here are some examples:

• I'm great at multitasking — I can waste time, procrastinate, and be unproductive simultaneously.
• Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again?
• Buses stop at bus stations.  Trains stop at train stations.  My desk is a work station.

• They begin the evening news with "Good evening," then proceed to tell us why it isn’t.
• Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
• The car stopped on a dime, which unfortunately was in a pedestrian's pocket.

• Hospitality is making your guests feel like they’re at home, even if you wish they were.
• Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
• I thought I wanted a career, but it turns out I just wanted paychecks.

• War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
• He who laughs last thinks slowest.
• Do you like a play on words . . . or on a stage?

• I know karate and maybe two other Japanese words.
• Why do voters in the United States choose between two people running for president but have fifty running for Miss America?
• If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.

• If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?
• A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
• I'm supposed to respect my elders, but now it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one.
• The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on the list.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share words we have encountered in our reading.  The word that intrigued me this week was paraprosdokian.

Weird words

I bought an LED lamp to clip onto my headboard so that I could read in bed.  The weird words on the box show without a doubt that it was made in a country that does not speak English, though I have no idea which country.

Before you read my "translation" below, see if you can figure out what the words on the side and back of the box say.  The short paragraph on the side is bad enough, but what's on the back is totally ridiculous.

Words on the side of the box

Words on the back of the box

The key to figuring out what's what, for me, was that only ONE letter was strange on the side.  Notice the "G" has a funny mark over it.  That mark is called a "caron."  In English, "cggler" is not a word.  Neither are "tg" nor "tguch" nor "gr" — nor "Cgntains" nor "ng" at the bottom.

When I started trying to figure out what the "missing" letter should have been (in English), I could suddenly see it's the letter O.  Insert "o" into those weird words, and it makes sense:

"Uses less energy & cooler to the touch than CFL or incandescent bulbs. . . . Contains no mercury."

So I turned again to the back of the box and could almost read the whole thing, though two other letter were still wrong:

"This Tortable lamT has a Tolarized Tlug (one blade is wider than the other) as a safety feature to reduce the risk of electric shock.  This Tlug will fit in a Tolarized outlet only one way.  If the Tlug does not fit fully in the outlet, reDerse the Tlug.  If it still does not fit, contact a qualified electrician.  NeDer use with an extension cord unless Tlug can be fully inserted.  Do not alter the Tlug."

Can you see it now?  There are still two wrong letters — the capital T that hangs below the line and the capital D with a dot under it, but the rest wasn't that hard for me to figure out.  Replace the long T with a "p" and the capital D-dot with a "v" to get:

• portable lamp
• polarized plug
• plug (several times)
• polarized outlet
• reverse
• never

Wondrous Words

Deb Nance of Readerbuzz has written about how tricky it is to deal with British English words that sound weird to speakers of American English.  Her problem resonates with me.

While we're on the topic of words, think about gun-related words that we use daily.  Read this Patheos article about gun violence.  Words we choose matter.

Here's the link to Elza Reads, where people share links to their Wondrous Words Wednesday posts.  I expect mine will be the weirdest words this week.

Have you ever used any of these words?

The only two I don't think I've ever heard used (or read) are these three:

Word of the Day #1

ker·fuf·fle / kərˈfəfəl / noun / INFORMAL•BRITISH = a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views.  Example:  "There was a kerfuffle over who was in charge."

Word of the Day #2

din·gle·ber·ry / ˈdiNGəlˌberē / noun / INFORMAL•US = a foolish or inept person.  Example:  "He's a real dingleberry."

Word of the Day #3

cods·wal·lop / ˈkädzˌwäləp / noun / INFORMAL•BRITISH = nonsense.  Example:  "I think that's a load of codswallop."

I love dark pumpernickel bread, like this.  Have you ever eaten any?

Facepalm ~ 'tis a wondrous word

facepalm /ˈfāspä(l)m / noun

A gesture in which the palm of one's hand is brought to one's face, as an expression of disbelief, shame, or exasperation.  Example of how to use this word — "facepalm felt around the world" on this mug.  Who is this man?  Do you know?

Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID Director, is the one whose facepalm was "felt around the world."  At least one person I know has become a Dr. Fauci fan, with the mug and a tee-shirt.  Do I need to tell you more about him?  Or are you up on the news these days?  Click on his name to learn more about him  — or click here to see WHY he facepalmed that day.

Kodkod? What's a kodkod?

The Crown Center offers the residents a word search puzzle each week, and I picked one up earlier today.  While waiting for my lunch order, I was also circling words on the page as I found them among the random letters.  Today, we were looking for large cats like lion, tiger, jaguar, and ... kodkod?  What?  I've never heard of a kodkod.  Neither had Donna, so we had to find out what it is.

Here's what Wikipedia says:

"The kodkod ... is the smallest cat in the Americas.  It lives primarily in central and southern Chile and marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina.  Its area of distribution is small compared to the other South American cats.  Since 2002, it has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List as the total effective population may comprise less than 10,000 mature individuals, and is threatened due to persecution and loss of habitat and prey base."

Here's what Donna found:

"The kodkod is a secretive animal the size of a very small house cat, and, along with the oncilla, is one of the southern hemisphere’s smallest cats.  Its tiny body has grayish-brown to buff fur, covered with many small black spots that will sometimes create broken streaks on its head and neck.  The small head has low-set ears, black at the rear, with a central white spot.  Its short tail is bushy and has narrow, black bands.  Its rather large feet suggest its ability to climb."

I never heard of an oncilla, either, though from the pictures I found, they seem to me a lot like kodkods or housecats.  Aren't these kodkods beautiful?

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme by BermudaOnion where we share new words that we have encountered or spotlight words that we love.  This is the word that intrigued me this week.

Administrivia

Today's word really IS a wonderous word:   administrivia.  Do you hate the administrative part of your job, doing the tedious stuff that keeps things running?  Martha Spong talked about administration on her blog a couple of days ago:  administration in relation to doing ministry:

Administration is not a dirty word.  Many pastors think of administration as the lesser task in their work, a distraction from the “real” ministry, or even describe it as being nibbled to death by ducks.  Yet the work of organizing events, infor-mation, and people can be a form of ministry and doing it more effectively can become a practice that makes ministry possible instead of detracting from it.  Administration literally means “near to ministering” (from the Latin, ad + minister).  The adjunct professor [her former teacher] defined it as drawing others out for ministry.  I have come to think of it as drawing ministry out of myself and others, by organizing myself and helping them to do the same.

Don't you love "nibbled to death by ducks"?  And after another couple of paragraphs, she wrote about someone whose "job includes a lot of administrivia."  In this context, I assumed she had invented the word on the spot.  I looked it up just in case, and and found that it IS a word.

administrivia:  routine paperwork and other administrative tasks that are regarded as trivial, uninteresting, and time-consuming; the tiresome but essential details that must be taken care of and tasks that must be performed in running an organization; administrative details that must be dealt with in order to do more interesting work.

Thank you, Martha. I learned a new word.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme by BermudaOnion where we share new words that we have encountered or spotlight words that we love. These are the words that intrigued me this week.

Wednesday Words from a memoir

Wednesday Words ~ cord/chord

"In the medical literature, the vocal 'cord' is a mere 'fold,' a piece of gristle that strives to reach out and touch its twin, thus producing the possibility of sound effects.  But I feel that there must be a deep relationship with the word 'chord':  the resonant vibration that can stir memory, produce music, evoke love, bring tears, move crowds to pity and mobs to passion.  We may not be, as we used to boast, the only animals capable of speech.  But we are the only ones who can deploy vocal communication for sheer pleasure and recreation, combining it with our two other boasts of reason and humor to produce higher syntheses.  To lose this ability is to be deprived of an entire range of faculty:  It is assuredly to die more than a little" (p. 54 of Mortality by Christopher Hitchens, 2012, memoir, 9/10).

Hitchens was dying of lung cancer and cancer of the esophagus when he wrote this book, so the problem specifically involved his vocal cords.  He was a writer and a speaker, so not being able to speak or put words on paper was a terrible thought.

"I often grandly say that writing is not just my living and my livelihood but my very life, and it's true. Almost like the threatened loss of my voice, which is currently being alleviated by some temporary injections into my vocal folds, I feel my personality and identity dissolving as I contemplate dead hands and the loss of the transmission belts that connect me to writing and thinking" (p. 71).

A variety of cords

The words "cord" and "chord" are homophones; they sound alike, but they're spelled differently.  When I think of a "cord," it is something like an electrical cord or the cord I use to charge my computer or a cord to tie up a package.  So why would vocal "folds" (as Hitchens says above) use the spelling "cord"?  Yes, that's the correct spelling.  More research tells me that any time the word is used in anatomy, it is always spelled "cord" rather than "chord."  Hmm, interesting.  So we have spinal cord, vocal cord, umbilical cord, etc.

Another Wednesday Word ~ inanition

"I would often find fatalism and resignation washing drearily over me as I failed to battle my general inanition.  Only two things rescued me from betraying myself and letting go:  a wife who would not hear of me talking in this boring and useless way, and various friends who also spoke freely.  Oh, and the regular painkiller" (pp. 68-69 of Mortality).

Definition:  in·a·ni·tion /ˌinəˈniSHən/ = exhaustion caused by lack of nourishment, lack of mental or spiritual vigor and enthusiasm.  An example:  "She was thinking that old age bred inanition."  Another example I found:  "Anorexia caused severe weakness in the young girl since the inanition of nutrition in her body could lead to her death."

I don't remember ever running across this word, so I also researched it and found this professor bird's list of words helpful.  I wondered about its opposite and found that Professor Birdy has another helpful list.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme by BermudaOnion where we share new words that we have encountered or spotlight words that we love.  These are the words that intrigued me this week.

Words ~ chary, wary, and leery

Is this squirrel wary? or leery? or chary? or maybe just cautious?

Joy at Joy's Book Blog found a new word in her reading this week:

I also learned a new word!  This was from a piece by John Parker, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, about some of his terrifying adventures.  He worked better with people who traveled a long distance to get to his location on the Ohio River — their experiences made them strong and resourceful.  The runaways from the Borderland were more inclined to make rookie mistakes and have out-sized expectations.  He introduced a story about them with this sentence:

"I had an experience with one of these uncontrollable groups which made me very chary about my fugitives ever after" (p. 98).

According to my Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1979), chary has the same root in Old English as care.  It means "discreetly cautious," and especially "hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks."  This is such a good word that I’m surprised I haven’t run across it before.  I’m going to use it as a kind of cross between cautious and choosy when there’s an element of risk involved.

Since Joy had put the word chary in the title, I immediately recognized it and compared it to leery before googling the word to check my one-word definition.  Rather than get out my dictionary (the same one Joy has, but mine is still packed in a box from my move last summer), I googled chary and looked at the synonyms.  The first synonym I found for chary was wary, but leery was also mentioned in the list.  (Yay!  I remembered correctly!)  I looked up leery and found both wary and chary as synonyms.  I looked up wary and found leery as a synonym, but not chary.  Oh, well, close enough to say that these three words mean pretty much the same thing:  cautiously reluctant to do something.

While playing around with these words, I also ran across a delightful article from 2004 by James J. Kilpatrick:  What's the difference?  Chary, wary and leery.  Basically, it says these are "three terms that may be defined under a general heading of cautious."  Oh, but how beautifully he says it in three short paragraphs before going on to discuss other words.

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Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion’s Weblog.  Kathy says:  "Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading."  Kathy also asks:  "What words do you want to celebrate today?"

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