English from all angles. Good news! After the COVID-19 lockdown, businesses and services around the world are opening up. “Opening up” is the opposite of closing down, locking down, restricting movement or even repressing feelings. And as a phrasal verb it’s separable: After a two-month lockdown, now we’re opening the shop up. Do you keep your feelings to yourself, or do you easily open up? To open up, in terms of emotions, means to release or freely express your feelings. Also, learn the meaning and origin of the expression “to open up a can of worms” and the difference between to open vs. to open up and to close vs. to close down.