Meaning of "pack his gear"

Question

Hi,Can I use "to pack one's gear" to mean "to pull up stakes", "to set out on a jorney", "to leave for some place" or something to that effect?Does the sentence below sound natural to you?He took a few days of unpaid leave and packed his gear for CaliforniaThanks in advance !

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

It's not really a standard expression.

My advice is not to use it.

Clive

Yankee · Answer

Hi Alex

My feeling is that people don't normally use that expression to say that someone "left". For me it would be much more typical for people to add a verb that directly indicates the departure -- something along the lines of "packed up his gear and left".

The expression "pack up one's gear" suggests that someone is preparing for some sort of departure. It could well be that someone is simply preparing to go home. It does not necessarily indicate that the person is preparing to go on a long journey. For example, if a plumber comes to my house to repair something, when he is finished with the repairs, he might then pack up his gear and go to his next customer.

MrPernickety · Answer

Thank you, guys, I'll be wary of this expression, seeing as it is not in popular use.

Hi, Amy

So, the expression that you know is "pack up one's gear"? I came by "pack one's gear" reading a book written by a British person, so it may well be one of those numerous differences between BrE - AmE )))

And I'm curious about what preposition goes with that expression that would specify the destination. Is it "for" ? That is, would this be a correct sentence ?

The plumber packed up his gear for the next house/for California

Thanks !

Yankee · Answer

Hi Alex

I wouldn't describe "pack (up) one's gear" as a "fixed expression" per se, but to me it is a fairly common collocation, and it is also pretty literal in meaning. The verb "pack" by itself is strongly associated with travel. "I'm all packed and ready to go" is something I might say just before I leave my house for the airport, for example. But neither "pack" nor "pack up" means "travel".

I'd say that "pack up" is more likely to be used when you pack again -- i.e. for a return trip or for the next leg of some sort of trip. Perhaps you've brought things to a place, you've unpacked them and used them for a time, and now you want to collect or re-pack them so that you can take them with you to another place.

The word "gear" can be used with a meaning similar to "equipment used for a particular purpose" and the purpose is often, but not exclusively, connected with sports. For example: my fishing gear, my skiing gear, camping gear. However, I think people also occasionally say "my gear" to just generally mean "my stuff"/"my things".

Thus, "pack up my gear" suggests collecting or re-packing my equipment so that I can take it with me when I leave.

Saying something such as "I packed my gear for California" suggests this to me:
"I packed the things I will need or want to have with me while I am in California."

I hope that helps a tad.

Meaning of "pack his gear"

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