Pop up
Today are going to talk about the expression “popping up” or to “pop up.” There are a few different ways you can use this expression. It can be a little confusing because “pop up” is both a noun and a verb.
You heard me say earlier that “craft breweries are popping up that focus exclusively on nonalcoholic beers.” Since this is an action, you can use in the past, present, or future. So you could say craft breweries popped up (in the past), are popping up (these days), or will pop up (sometime in the future).
You will use this to describe something that appears suddenly or temporarily. So if you’re describing in the spring, you could say: “the daisies are popping up after that heavy rain.”
My toast popped up from the toaster just before it burned.
You might say that certain actors are popping up everywhere in the gossip magazines. You might say that; I wouldn’t because I don’t have any idea who pops up in celebrity magazines.
But I think the most popular use of “pop up” is a new store, building, restaurant, something like that. For a long time in Chicago, we had mattress stores popping up everywhere. Everywhere you look, there’s a new mattress store: I had no idea Chicagoans needed so many new mattresses. Now they’re closing. I guess we got all the mattresses we needed.
New Poke restaurants are popping up everywhere. That’s like Hawaiian food – usually seafood and rice and vegetables in a bowl. Poke restaurants are popping up all over Chicago, New York, and other places I frequently visit.
New Amazon warehouses are popping up along highways all around the country. That’s another example of something popping up – new Amazon distribution warehouses.
A “pop-up” as a noun often means something that has popped up. What pops up all the time? New windows on your web browser, right? You might say “Oh, these pop-up ads are really annoying;” or, I really need to get a pop-up blocker on my browser.
A book for young children could also be a “pop-up book.” When you turn the page, an illustration will “pop up” from the page to be more interactive for small kids.
A temporary business, such as a restaurant, vintage shop, or clothing store is sometimes called a “pop-up.” These are usually new businesses or ones that are not established enough to have their own permanent address so they will “pop up” in a space that is either used for another purpose or is vacant for some reason. Because of this, they are called a “pop-up.” It pops up for a short time, and then it disappears.
Quote of the week
Today’s quote of the week is from Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin was an instrumental figure in the founding of our nation. He wasn’t exactly a political leader, but he was an inventor, civic leader, writer, philosopher, scientist, and public servant, among other things. He created the first public library and the first fire department, invented the lightning rod and bifocal lenses, was a newspaper editor, and he founded the University of Pennsylvania.
Here is today’s quote: “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” He’s saying the natural process of water falling to the earth, into our vineyards, so that grapes can be made into wine—that whole process is proof that god loves us and loves to see us happy.
On that note, we will close out today’s episode. Thanks for joining us, as always. Raise a glass to the non-alcoholic movement. Let me know if mocktails or non-alcoholic drinks are something you’ve seen in your country. Leave us a comment below the transcript at PlainEnglish.com/212. We will see you right back here on Thursday.
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Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
