I think this money "will hold" you for a while...a very informal type of speech

Rise to the top, become a high priority or come up over and over. What are the ramifications...what are the consequences if the metrics are not met

A, An or The? When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable nouns.) The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this: Articles Definite Indefinite the a, an We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular. We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general. When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an. Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would say: I saw the moon last night. I saw a star last night. Look at these examples: the a, an The capital of France is Paris. I have found the book that I lost. Have you cleaned the car? There are six eggs in the fridge. Please switch off the TV when you finish. I was born in a town. John had an omelette for lunch. James Bond ordered a drink. We want to buy an umbrella. Have you got a pen? Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples: We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.) Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.) http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-determiners-the-a-an.htm

The stern is the rear part of a ship. The mast is a verticle pole that comes up from the deck of the ship that the ropes and sails are attached to. The bow is the front part of a ship. So I am guessing the mast has fallen and they are being ordered to get the last off the boat (or out of the way). Man the cannons is said when you want the crew to go to the cannons to prepare for a battle.

civilization can mean several things so I think these could be taken in different ways...in my opinion...t he power of civilization implies, when a group of people are civilized are capable of more than an uncivilized population - for example they may have an advanced education system, their government may be a cohesive body able to negotiate with other states or develop a military. The civilization of power...well power isn't always civilized, a tribe of people can be brutal and barbaric. But with civilization comes a certain level of refinement so as a group becomes civilized, it take power from a basic level of who ever is strongest wins, to, hopefully, a more refined type of power that is not purely developed based on individual physical strength, So a civilized tribe may have education, culture, government that would not allow brutal and barbaric acts to happen (at least in the ideal world).

Fxmaxey's answer is very good. In terms of writing, if you were to write a novel and trying to capture a "real" conversation what's up would be fine but in a more formal piece like an essay or news story you probably wouldn't use what's up as it is considered very informal speech. Also, if talking with someone of authority, like my boss or in power like a senator or judge, I would probably not use what's up but talking with friends and family I would use what's up.