"Bessler speaking . . ."

[rlortie]

Bessler writes in old German and Latin off three hundred years ago. And now we ponder and argue over translations. Some that are meaningless.

But as an old timer I can relate to days that such words as windows was something you opened to let the flys in. Boot up was to put on your boots. Down load was to take the fire wood out of the pickup.

In a converstation with Steve I happened to remember a little topic about our own language and how words can be interpreted.

Lets think about language translations based on how all languages change over time as well as their meanings.
How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English???

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

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of a 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 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 the old car.

At other times this 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 or 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 1/4 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 UP the earth. 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 my time is UP, so....... Time to shut UP....!

Oh....one more thing! What is the first thing you do in the morning & and the last thing you do at night? U P

Now, don't screw up and worry about a word used over 300 years ago such as "schwungen". to ponder a dead end trail will make you sick! Well I can only say, to get well you may try drinking fresh well water, If that does not get you well, then I do not know what else will make you well off!

Well! darn I did say my time was UP!

Ralph

[primemignonite]

Dear Ralph...

Wow! What an essay on that word. I love it!

I'd like to get Scott to do a search of the entire site, and find out WHO is the champion user of the ratty little term. I'll bet I've used it far less than others. I wonder too, how many times KB has used it? Probably not many, would be my guess.

One wonders HOW such a dumb all-purpose sort-of-word could ever have gotten started. UP this, and UP that, and so on. "Wake up!' rather than 'awaken!

It IS ridiculous, Ralph.

The most legitimate need for it, of course, is for indicating direction, much of all the rest being suspect, I suppose.

Will have to give this troublesome term much due consideration. I may well banish it from my own lexicon, except for that one, proper usage.

Thanks for writing and posting about it.

James

[scott]

That's a good one: http://www.hbingham.com/humor/whats-up.htm (12/2004)

I'd like to get Scott to do a search of the entire site, and find out WHO is the champion user of the ratty little term.

I don't have to do a search. The winner is Ken.

[Wheeler]

I think Ralph is the runner UP!

[primemignonite]

Wheeler,

If you have not yet found it, it probably doesn't exist.

James