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Hi I'm new to this forum, but I do listen to the show.
I grew up in Alabama. My folks grew up in rural Tennessee. They (and I) use the expression "wrapped UP" (emphasis on up) to say a place--usually a restaurant or store-- is crazy busy. As in, "I went down to the mall today and it was wrapped UP!"
I recently used this expression around my boyfriend who grew up in Chicago and he didn't know what I was saying. This prompted me to do a little internet searching and I cannot find any reference to this phrase being used in this way.
Anyone else out there heard this before? I'd love to know where it comes from/how it originated.
Glad to have you stop by, aerushing!
Dictionaries are more likely to define words than phrases, but The Free Dictionary has a nice page on "wrapped up" at http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/wrapped+up
I'm not sure there is going to be anything more definitive about "where it comes from" than the obvious; if one is wrapped up, there is limited range of motion. I am always glad when I have a project all wrapped up, so I can go on to something else.
I don't know that Chicago is any worse than any other major city, but those of us in Indiana have been known to say, "You can always tell someone from Chicago by not much." Tell your boyfriend that there are certainly some dumb people with Alabama accents, but it's not the accent that makes one dumb, and insulting your girlfriend's intelligence will get you coal in your stocking come Christmas morning.
I don't know about the South, but when I was growing up in the Midwest I understood that to be all wrapped up in someone meant to be enamored of him. It could be used of activities, too. Judging by the fact that it was usually denied immediately by the recipient, I suppose it carried an implication of being inordinately enthusiastic about the object of affection.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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