Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hello! In the last episode of Bad English with Kate, I covered phrasal verbs with "***",
but youtube user lovingsarah told me I completely forgot about the phrasal verb "*** up". Thank
you, lovongsarah. You're right. I *** up. "*** up" is one of the most versatile phrasal
verbs with ***. It can be transitive or intransitive. It can also be a noun, and can be used as
an adjective. So today's episode will be all about "*** up". Let's start today's ***
up lesson! First things first. The most basic meaning of "*** up" is to mess up, damage
or cause harm. Let's look at some examples. The easiest example is the imperative. In
the negative imperative we can say, "Don't *** it up." "Don't *** it up," is an order
directing someone not to do something badly. For example, maybe your friend is going to
cut your hair. You don't want her to do a bad job, so you say to her, "Don't *** it
up." Let's try that: Don't *** it up. Don't *** it up. In this case, "it" is your hair.
Notice how we place the direct object "it" in between the verb and the preposition in
transitive usage. We could also direct someone, "Don't *** up," without the object. As an
example, maybe your friend is going for his driver's test. He tells you he's about to
go and you say, "Don't *** up!" by way of encouragement. Let's try that: Don't ***
up. Don't *** up. It would be very rare to tell someone to *** up, so the imperative
will almost always be negative. Okay. Now that we've got the basics of *** up, let's
talk about some other ways to use *** up. Let's go back to the first example in which
your friend was going to cut your hair. You told her not to *** it up, but when she finishes,
you look in the mirror and and it's a *** mess (see how I used *** as as adjective
there? Next time, we will cover that topic). So you look in the mirror and your hair is
totally *** up. Now you can say to her, "You *** up my hair!" You could also say,
"You *** my hair up!" Either one is okay when the direct object is not a pronoun (like
"it"). But "You *** up my hair," would sound more normal in this situation. Let's
try that: You *** up my hair. You *** up my hair. This is the transitive usage in
the simple past. "You *** up my hair." "You *** up my hair." In transitive usage,
we can also use "*** up" to make a threat. When your friend makes a mess of your hair,
you might say to her, "I'm going to *** you up!" "I'm going to *** you up," is generally
a threat of violence. You might say this when you have no real intention of harming someone,
simply to express displeasure. "I'm going to *** you up." "I'm going to *** you up."
In this situation, we can also see how to use "*** up" as an adjective, because you
can also describe your hair as being "*** up". Let's say that later that night, you
are supposed to go to a party, but now you're embarrassed because your hair is all ***
up. You call another friend and say, "Man, I'd love to go to the party, but my hair is
*** up. Janet *** up my hair." It can also be an adjective meaning intoxicated or
damaged. So maybe your friend will respond to you by saying, "Don't worry. Everyone is
going to be *** up." In this statement your friend is telling you that everyone at
the party is going to be intoxicated, so no one will care about your horrible hair cut.
Let's try that one: Everyone is going to be *** up. Everyone is going to be ***
up. We can modify the adjectival phrase "*** up" in different ways. Here are a few: so
*** up, all *** up, really *** up, totally *** up. Finally, "*** up" can
be used as a noun. It means someone who is a failure. Typically, someone who is a ***
up is someone who drinks or uses too many drugs, but it can also mean someone who is
incompetent or generally worthless, even if only at a specific activity. I can say of
myself that when it comes to math, I am a total *** up. We could say that as a president,
George W. Bush was a *** up. But more typically we would use it to refer to someone who is
not able to accomplish much. "My cousin is a *** up. Don't give him the job." We can
also use "*** up" as a noun to talk about an error or blunder. If a newspaper reports
a fact incorrectly or if a musician makes a mistake, or if the mortgage industry destroys
the economy of a nation by selling toxic assets based on the failure of its own industry,
we could call that a *** up. Let's try this, "The mortgage crisis in the US is a *** up
of epic proportions." "The mortgage crisis in the US is a *** up of epic proportions."
"The mortgage crisis in the US is a *** up of epic proportions." "*** up of epic proportions,"
means a mistake so large, it's hard to put into words. Okay, guys. Thanks for tuning
in to Bad English With Kate. If you have any suggestions for future lessons, I look forward
to reading them in the comments. Have a great day, and don't *** it up!