to be up for

Idiom: To be up for
First example: Jason is in medical school.  He has been studying for the last eight weeks without a break.  He spent every day studying, even the weekends.  Next week is his school’s spring break.  Jason will have a week to relax and do whatever he wants to do.  He’s really up for a trip to a warm location with lots of sunny beaches.  He plans do a lot of surfing in the water and sleeping on the beach.

Meaning: “To be up for” means to want to do something.  In this situation, Jason is up for a nice vacation.  He has spent many weeks studying hard, and he is probably very tired.  He certainly needs to relax.   He wants to relax by going to the beach during the break.

Here is another example: 
Second example:

(The phone rings and Sara answers.)

Sara: Hello?

Dennis: Hey, Sara, how are you doing?

Sara: Hi, Dennis.  I’m not so well.  I’ve been sick all week.

Dennis:  Oh, no… that’s too bad.  What’s wrong?

Sara:  It’s probably just a cold, but I’ve been coughing and sneezing all the time.  Plus, my throat hurts.

Dennis:  Really?  Do you think you’ll feel better by tomorrow?  There’s this cool party on campus we can go to.

Sara:  Oh, I don’t think so.  I’m not up for all the noise and people this weekend.  I just want to sleep and get better.

Dennis:  Are you sure?  It’s supposed to be the biggest party this term.

Sara:  I’m sure.  I need quiet and rest, so I can get back to class next week.  Thanks for asking me, though.

Meaning: In this case, Sara has been sick, so she doesn’t want to be around people.  She just wants to rest.  When Dennis asks her to go to the party, she turns him down.  She is not up for a party environment.  She wants a quiet weekend in order to get better.

This idiom is from LSI's soon-to-be-published book "Speaking Horizons," which will be used in the level 6 Listening/Speaking classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com