tired: [mom at 8am voice] up and at 'em!
wired: [swashbuckling hero addressing his crestfallen companions voice] up! up, and at them!
this is in the same category as my assertion that "two o'clock" expands to "two of clock"
lisbeth f.-c. mulholland
- she/her
- selectric.space/
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in reply to @cathoderaydude's post:
*camp councilor voice* wide awake alert and enthusiastic, campers!
in reply to @cathoderaydude's post:
Is that supposed to be in question? I always assumed it was "two of the clock", shortening to "of clock" and finally "o'clock".
There's a fascinating theory I heard that "up and at 'em" is not a shortening of "them" though. It's actually a retained "hem", from before the Vikings invaded and brought "them" into our language. So, same meaning, third person plural accusative pronoun, but an older form of it that got replaced by "them" later on.
yeah that tracks with welsh "bump o'r gloch" → "five o'clock". "o" is just the preposition for "of"/"from" in Welsh
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