As a preposition, with is supposed to be a simple, “innocent” word functioning in similar ways to those of other prepositions such as ‘in’, ‘at’, ‘over’, ‘under’, ‘toward’ and ‘before’:

Having purchased a pizza with his own money, Charlie Brown departed with Snoopy who picked a fight with Woodstock earlier.

The first with signifies “as an instrument; by means of”; the second denotes “in the company of; alongside; along side of; close to; near to”; and the third means “against”.

This particular W word, like many other much abused four-letter words, has been strained, stretched and wranggled excessively in its usage. Anyone contemplating starting a sentence with the W word is staring down the barrel of an unruly gun prone to firing ungrammatical projectiles. For those who wish to be clear…