Joho the Blog
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September 13, 2006
In English, chopping a tree down is not the opposite of chopping it up. Throwing in the towel is not the opposite of throwing out the towel. Taking someone in is not the opposite of taking someone out. Throwing a sandwich down is not the opposite of throwing it up. What are other examples of opposite prepositions used in non-opposite ways? [Tags: doep puzzle] Posted
by D. Weinberger at September 13, 2006 02:41 PM
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Comments
You can calm down but not calm up.
Throwing down is not the opposite of throwing up.
You can fill something up but not fill it down.
Posted by: Bryan Campbell | September 13, 2006 03:39 PM
Bringing someone up is not the opposite of bringing someone down.
Strangely, however, living it up often does result in having to live something down.
Posted by: Matt Norwood | September 13, 2006 04:18 PM
My favorite is "loosen" and "unloosen" as they mean just about the same thing!
Posted by: Andrius Kulikauskas | September 13, 2006 06:50 PM
Blowing up a house is not opposite to blowing it down. Its quite similar, in fact. Same with burn up and burn down.
Posted by: SamW | September 13, 2006 06:52 PM
Not exactly on theme, but my mother-in-law would always "unthaw" frozen food that came out of the freezer. She never could quite understand that, technically speaking, you put food into the freezer to unthaw it.
Posted by: Mark Federman | September 13, 2006 07:11 PM
Slow up and slow down are not opposites.
To dress down someone is not the opposite of to dress up someone.
I wish I could think of more.
Posted by: Linda | September 14, 2006 09:26 AM
"...two words with opposite meanings are called antonyms. So autoantonyms are words that are the opposite of themselves!"
For example:
custom == usual; normal
custom == special; unique
see
http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_autoantonyms.html
Posted by: Michael Saunders | September 14, 2006 10:02 AM
Bryan - your calm up and calm down made me think of chill out and chill in. :). Ha, it could be similar if one was chill out and the other was chillin'. ;)
Posted by: Linda | September 14, 2006 09:43 PM
This whole thing sounds like a George Carlin routine . . ..
Posted by: Charlie Green | September 15, 2006 12:15 PM
To cleave something is to split it apart. To cleave to something is to stick to it.
Posted by: Seth Gordon | September 15, 2006 02:02 PM
getting on with somebody isn't opposite to getting off with them.
Turning up and turning down
Posted by: Dan | September 20, 2006 09:47 AM
fill in doesn't always mean opposite of fill out- although fill in the blank is similar in meaning to fill out this form - but if you fill in for someone you can't fill out for a person - also, speak up not opposite of speak down
and just want to share this- nobody's left can mean no one has left (which means everyone's still there) or nobody's left means nobody is left (everyone's gone)
Posted by: tracy | December 15, 2006 10:27 AM