Don't go there.  They're the ones who don't care about the way their spelling appears in business letters.

DaveAtkins

Not to stereotype, but they're also likely the same who would sit acrosst from you while enjoying a game of chest (possibly while unthawing dinner).

Some others I've heard (and seen spelled):

Both here at work:
  spicket instead of spigot
  spline instead of spine

A previous position:
  amplitheater instead of amphitheater

One of my peeves: "I could care less"... to which I often respond, "Oh really, I couldn't."

How about 'irregardless'?  I'm assuming one means 'not regarding' as opposed to 'directly regarding'.
Let us not forget the all-time classic 'supposably'.

"There, there, now."
What's up with that?

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Don't know what's up with that, it's usually used to soothe someone who is down.

What's it with up?

Up used to be a direction-the opposite of down, the direction of gravity force.

Is "open up" more open than open? I don't think so.
"He is going to open up a business." You have heard that?
He really is going to open [start] a business.
'Open the door' conveys a message, a meaning. It is clear and not ambiguous.
"Open up" makes as much sense as "open down".

There is a term which really grinds me, and that is "listen up". Absolute nonsense!!! Doubletalk and gobbledegook!!! I really don't know how to 'listen up'.
If you mean 'pay attention', or 'listen carefully', say so.

There appear to be certain people who are impelled to say 'up' when there is no good reason to say it. They are driven to say 'up'. They can't help themselves. They have little or no will power.

THE CHALLENGE is to say 'open' without saying up. Can you do it?

Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

I agree jimbo, that 'up' is often used unnecessarily.  What bothers me as much is that people seem to think that 'up' and 'north' are interchangeable as are 'down' and 'south.'

But I do have some questions about "up."

I'm okay with someone saying that the market opened up, but not as happy with saying the market opened down (but for a very different reason).  Of course, in this case, 'up' and 'down' have very real meanings unlike your examples.

The phrase "listen up" is one I wonder about.  Could it be a short-cut from "look up and listen", which I heard many times during my early school years?

And just for fun:  If a window has a lower pane which can be raised, and an upper pane which can be lowered, is there a difference between opening up the window, or opening down the window?

To further the semantic evolution of 'up', I've always been curious of the exclamation 'Heads' Up!'  Either the original intent was to have an unsuspecting spectator decapitated by a flying object, or I have completely misunderstood something.  'Heads Down!' would probably be a safer bit of advice.

Shayne31, I think then you would simply say, "Duck!".  The term "heads' up" is used a lot in the US military, and basically means to be alert, pay attention or expect something.  Military jargon at it's best.

Jimbo and CajunCenturion, I think it's only proper to use "open up" and "open down" when talking about the stock market, indicating how the market is starting.  But I guess that would be "opened-up" or "opened-down".

Ray Reynolds
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
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Back to the original post:  Their are too many people who think that there grammer need not need not follow they're rules.

Drives me nuts.  "Nuts" what's up with that?

David

jimbo,

"Open up" makes as much sense as "open down".

I suppose that you are in the US or UK. In that case you are quite lucky. We get "open up", "start up" and "feel in" and tons of such rubbish in my northern country. And we do not even speak English! We just get that crap imported.

BTW. Would you say that "close down" is more meaningful than "open up".

of course not.. since it's supposed to be "close up"

TTFN

Of course there is always the comparison of "shut down" or "shut up"

Regards
pat

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