The idiom “crop up” means something has appeared suddenly and unexpectedly. Its origins are in geology, referring to something surfacing. Alternative suggestions include wild crops or debris during plowing. The idiom has been used metaphorically since the 17th century and can be used to suggest a change in plans or making excuses.
The English idiom “crop up” is used to mean that something has appeared suddenly and unexpectedly. You may also hear people say “something came up,” which has a similar meaning. The idiom has been used in this sense since at least the 1800s, and evidence seems to suggest that it may be even older, with the earliest dated references to the occurrence appearing in the 1600s.
Although the term “crop” is associated with plants by many modern English speakers, the origins of this word reference the original meaning of “crop,” a swelling or protuberance. Originally, this term was an entry in the geological lexicon. Geologists would say that something was “surfacing” in the literal sense, as in an outcrop of rock. Rocks periodically crop out suddenly as the landscape erodes or is rearranged by an earthquake, and outcroppings are especially common in mines, where miners find harder rocks that support softer materials.
There are some intriguing alternative suggestions for the origins of “crop up”. Some people have suggested, for example, that the term is a reference to crops that occur wild where they are not planted, as in “a few potatoes sprouted in the carrot garden”. Others have argued that the term refers to the small stones, roots and other debris that would emerge during spring plowing, when farmers prepared the land for planting. However, etymologists strongly believe that the term began in geology.
As some publications of the late 17th and early 18th centuries suggest, the idiom was rapidly adopted in a metaphorical sense, with people speaking of situations and events that had “surfaced” exactly like outcroppings of rock. The first written instance of “crop up” in this sense occurred in the 17th century, cementing the idiom in the English language.
There are several ways to use this idiom. For example, one might say “something has come up at work and I’m going to have to stay late,” using the idiom to suggest that an unexpected event has forced a chance on plans. This idiom is sometimes used when someone is making excuses not to do something, and has taken on a somewhat suspicious meaning to some people, with “crop up” being taken as a euphemism for “I didn’t feel like following through on the plan.” One could even say “more students emerge in the literature program every year,” referring to the idea that this term refers to new appearances.
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