Sink Up To

[learningspirit]

I have a question about the usage of the verb "sink" here:


"Wagon sank up to their hubs."


"Sink" means, loosely, going downward in some liquid. So, the part "up to their hubs" seems weird. Could it be an error?

 

[MikeNewYork]

No. It refers to the hubs of their wheels. Because of their, "wagon" should be "wagons".

 

[emsr2d2]

"Up to their hubs" is a way of measuring how deeply they sank. The water (or whatever liquid they were sinking into) came up to the level of the hubs of their wheels.

 

[Polyester]

Can I say "he sunk the ship by torpedo"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

"With a torpedo".

 

[emsr2d2]

He sank the ship with a torpedo.
The ship was sunk​ with a torpedo.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In AmE,"sunk" is also the correct past tense of sink.

 

[SoothingDave]

The wagons most likely sank in the mud. This was a frequent hazard for those traveling west in the pioneer days.

 

[Skrej]

Yup, and still a hazard today on the right (or wrong) road - I've been up to my hubs (or even deeper) before....