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I read this sentence from the book "REVOLUTION 2020"

I remained under a banyan tree, exhausted by my daily ritual of hauling up the men every two hours".

I got the meaning for haul up as "to come to a halt" . but i dont thhik this will be fit for this sentence. can anyone explain this.

saravanan
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  • Probably the following meaning fits your sentence: To haul up: call to account.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hauled+up –  Jul 02 '14 at 07:28
  • Maybe a little more context would help? – anongoodnurse Jul 02 '14 at 08:27
  • Could be that the speaker works at the top of a well, at the bottom of which some men work 2 hour shifts. – Rupe Jul 02 '14 at 10:58
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    Haul up means to lift far more often than stop. The meaning of to stop comes from having to pull up the heads of the horses on a team to signal them to stop. – Oldcat Jul 02 '14 at 18:03

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From the sliver of a quotation that you provide, it is impossible to tell whether the narrator is using "haul up" literally (as in turning a crank on a manual winch to raise workers up out of a mine) or figuratively in some way (as in "hauling" [that is, escorting] someone up to the booking sergeant's desk in a police station for examination, temporary incarceration, or release). The narrator's professed exhaustion makes the literal meaning more likely, but there is simply too little information available in your quotation to permit a definitive answer.

Sven Yargs
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The primary meaning of to haul is to pull something heavy with continuous steady movement (Longman DCE). When I see the verb to haul I think of seamen who haul up the ancor or haul in a heavy net full of fish. To haul has developed some other meanings.

rogermue
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