Reading difficult
Dear Sir,
I'm reading a novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. In it, I found this phrase that I couldn't figure out what that meant: "Her last husband had his ears bored for stealing honey. The wounds gave up pus until he wasted away." I think the words give up means 'stop', so did it mean that there were no pus from the wounds till he died? Strange, because her husband's ears were bored that the wounds probably gave out some pus.
Top answer
leobroun I think the words give up means 'stop' Normally, yes, but not here. It is such an odd turn of phrase that I had to go a-googling, thinking that Whitehead must have been writing in another century. But he is a modern New Yorker who went to Harvard.
- leobroun I think the words give up means 'stop' Normally, yes, but not here.
- It is such an odd turn of phrase that I had to go a-googling, thinking that Whitehead must have been writing in another century.
- But he is a modern New Yorker who went to Harvard.
- The OED does not recognize this use as a phrasal, but I have to say that it does not sound totally unfamiliar to me.
- I think we have to see it as simply a verb and an adverb, meaning "produced", the "up" being like the one in "offer up".
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leobrounI think the words give up means 'stop'
Normally, yes, but not here. It is such an odd turn of phrase that I had to go a-googling, thinking that Whitehead must have been writing in another century. But he is a modern New Yorker who went to Harvard. The OED does not recognize this use as a phrasal, but I have to say that it does not sound total
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