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around

əˈraʊnd

Why "about fifty dollars" and "turn around" are the same word

The picture A line that travels around something placed in the middle, never touching the middle, always keeping to the outside. THROUGH cuts into the middle; AROUND leaves the middle alone and travels the rim.

Particles

Where the picture shows up in around

  1. ringed around it

    We sat around the table and started the meeting.

    wiː sæt əˈraʊnd ðə ˈteɪbəl ənd ˈstɑːrtɪd ðə ˈmiːtɪŋ

    We sat in a circle at the table and began the meeting.

    Chairs set in a circle with the table in the middle.

  2. half a turn on the spot

    Could you turn around so I can check your back?

    kʊd juː tɜːrn əˈraʊnd soʊ aɪ kən tʃek jʊər bæk

    Please face the other way so I can look at your back.

    Feet stay put while the body swings until the back faces front.

  3. room to room

    Let me show you around the office.

    let miː ʃoʊ juː əˈraʊnd ðiː ˈɔːfɪs

    I'll give you a tour of the office.

    Footprints looping from room to room instead of stopping anywhere.

  4. the rim of a number

    The repair will cost around fifty dollars.

    ðə rɪˈper wɪl kɔːst əˈraʊnd ˈfɪfti ˈdɑːlərz

    The repair will come to about fifty dollars.

    Instead of a dot on one mark, a circle drawn around that mark.

  5. somewhere nearby

    Is the manager around this afternoon?

    ɪz ðə ˈmænɪdʒər əˈraʊnd ðɪs ˌæftərˈnuːn

    Is the manager in this afternoon?

    A person moving somewhere in the building, not pinned to one desk.

All of it in one picture

AROUND is one line drawn around a center. Put chairs on that line and people sit around the table; swing your body along it and you turn around; walk it from room to room and you are shown around; draw it around a number and you get "roughly"; leave a person somewhere on it and they are simply around. Whatever follows around never lands on a single point — it stays out on the rim.

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