The vagaries of the English Language

One word in the English language that could be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb or preposition is "UP". This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word. 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. If there is a tie, it is a toss UP, and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. 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 can be confusing. A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP! We open UP a store in the morning, but we close it UP at night. 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 soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! 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 UP to a hundred or more.