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up Idioms

up a blind alley

- on a route that leads nowhere, at a dead end
The police were up a blind alley in their search for evidence of the crime.

up against

- having trouble with
He came up against many problems when he went to university.

up against (something)

- close to
The ladder was standing up against the tree in the yard.

up and about

- recovered from an illness
He has been up and about for a couple of days since he left the hospital.

up and around

- out of bed and moving about
I was up and around before 6:00 AM this morning.

up and at 'em/them

- get active and get busy
We will be up and at 'em very early tomorrow morning.

up and away

- up into the air and into flight
My parents got on the airplane and were up and away before we knew it.

up-and-coming

- new
The woman is an up-and-coming singer.

up for (something)

- enthusiastic about something
The entire school was up for the final football game of the season.

up for grabs

- available for anyone
The new championship of the city is up for grabs.

up front

- honest, correct
He was very up front when giving me the information about the new office.

up in arms

- equipped with guns or weapons and ready to fight, very angry
The villagers were up in arms over the proposal to take some of their land away from them.

up in the air (about something)

- not settled, undecided
Whether or not I will be able to go to London is still up in the air.

up in years

- old, elderly
Although our grandparents are up in years they still have much energy.

up one`s alley

- something one is good at or enjoys
Computer programming is right up his alley and he is very good at it.

up one`s sleeve

- kept secretly ready for the right time or for a time when needed
He probably has something up his sleeve and will be able to find a job when he needs one.

up the creek

- in trouble
She is up the creek now that she has lost her passport.

up the river/creek with no paddle

- in trouble and unable to do anything about it
I think that we are up the river with no paddle now that our car has run out of gasoline.

up to

- as far as, as deep or as high as
The water in the swimming pool came up to my waist.

up to

- until
Up to last week I had never been inside a bowling alley.
There were probably up to thirty people at the meeting.

up-to-date

- modern, the latest standards of fashion
The kitchen in our apartment is not up-to-date at all.

up to here with (someone/something)

- sick of some continual bad or irritating behavior
I have had it up to here with his coming late to work.

up to it/the job

- capable or fit for something
If he is up to it we can let him drive the truck to the new office.

up to no good

- doing something bad
The boys were up to no good after school.

up to one's chin

- very busy with, deeply involved in something
He has been up to his chin in the project to build a new convention center.

up to one`s ears in work

- have a lot of work to do
I`d like to go with you but I`m up to my ears in work at the moment.

up to par/scratch/snuff

- meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or quality
The man's work was not up to par and he was asked to leave his job.

up to (someone) to decide (something)

- to be responsible to choose or decide something
It is up to the manager to decide when the meeting will start.

up to (someone) to do (something)

- to be responsible to do something
It is up to the manager to clean the apartment lobby.

up to (something)

- occupied in or planning some activity that is often bad
I don`t know what he was up to last night but it was probably something bad.

up to the mark

- meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or quality
The work was not up to the mark and the company would not pay for it.

up-to-the-minute

- the very latest or most recent
We always try to get an up-to-the-minute weather report before we go skiing.

up until

- until
I was in the library up until midnight last night.

upper crust

- rich and famous people, the highest class of people
The private club was full of what looked like the upper crust of the city.

upper hand

- controlling power, advantage
The union members have the upper hand in their negotiations with the company.

ups and downs

- good fortune and bad fortune
He is having a few ups and downs but generally he is doing well.

upset the applecart

- ruin or spoil a plan or idea
Try not to upset the applecart as we have spent a lot of time working on this project.

upshot of (something)

- result or outcome of something
The upshot of the meeting was that we would no longer continue to keep the store open.

uptight

- worried, irritated, anxious
My sister has been uptight all week because of her exams.


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