You can sometimes figure out the meaning of a phrasal compound by looking at words context What is context?

In the context of language, context refers to the surrounding information that helps you understand the meaning of a word, phrase, or sentence. It can be anything from the words around it to the larger situation in which it's being used.

Here's a breakdown of how context can help you understand phrasal compounds:

1. Surrounding Words:

* Example: "The hiker put on his backpack." We know that "put on" means to place something on oneself because of the surrounding words "hiker" and "backpack."

2. Sentence Structure:

* Example: "She turned down the offer." The sentence structure tells us that "turned down" is a verb phrase, and the object "offer" helps us understand that it means to refuse.

3. Previous Sentences:

* Example: "The party was a disaster. The food was awful and the guests turned up late." The previous sentence about the party being a disaster provides context for "turned up" to mean arrived late.

4. Situation:

* Example: "The dog looked up at the postman." We understand the dog is looking up because of the situation of the postman arriving at the door.

5. Cultural Knowledge:

* Example: "He threw out the trash." We understand "threw out" means to dispose of because of our cultural knowledge about how trash is handled.

By considering all these elements of context, we can often figure out the meaning of phrasal compounds, even if we've never seen them before.