[up-and-coming]{adj. phr.} Bound toward success; upwardly mobile; progressive; ambitious. •/The newly elected state senator is an up-and-coming young politician who is expected to be highly successful in national politics in the future./

[up a stump]{adj. phr.}, {slang} Stumped; blocked; mixed up or confused in what you are trying to do. •/Jimmy knows how to add and subtract but fractions have him up a stump./

[up a tree]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Hunted or chased into a tree; treed. •/The dog drove the coon up a tree so the hunter could shoot him./ 2. {informal} in trouble; having problems; in a difficulty that it is hard to escape or think of a way out of. •/John’s father has him up a tree in the checker game./ Compare: UP THE CREEK.

[up for grabs]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Available for anyone to try to get; ready to be competed for; there for the taking. •/When the captain of the football team moved out of town, his place was up for grabs./

[up front(1)]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} The managerial section of a corporation or firm. •/Joe Catwallender finally made it (with the) up front./

[up front(2)]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} Open, sincere, hiding nothing. •/Sue was completely up front about why she didn’t want to see him anymore./

[up in arms]{adj. phr.} 1. Equipped with guns or weapons and ready to fight. •/All of the colonies were up in arms against the Redcoats./ Syn.: IN ARMS. 2. Very angry and wanting to fight. •/Robert is up in arms because John said he was stupid./ •/The students were up in arms over the new rule against food in the dormitory./

[up in the air]{adj.} or {adv. phr.} 1. {informal} In great anger or excitement. •/My father went straight up in the air when he heard I damaged the car./ •/The Jones family are all up in the air because they are taking a trip around the world./ Compare: HIT THE CEILING, BLOW A FUSE. 2. also [in midair] Not settled; uncertain; undecided. •/Plans for the next meeting have been left up in the air until Jane gets better./ •/The result of the game was left hanging in midair because it rained before the finish./ Compare: LEAVE HANGING.

[up one’s alley] See: DOWN ONE’S ALLEY.

[up one’s sleeve] or [in one’s sleeve] {adv. phr.} 1. Hidden in the sleeve of one’s shirt or coat and ready for secret or wrongful use. •/The crooked gambler hid aces up his sleeve during the card game so that he would win./ 2. {informal} Kept secretly ready for the right time or for a time when needed. •/Jimmy knew that his father had some trick up his sleeve because he was smiling to himself during the checker game./ Compare: CARD UP ONE’S SLEEVE. 3. See: LAUGH UP ONE’S SLEEVE.

[upon oneself] See: TAKE ON ONESELF also TAKE UPON ONESELF.

[upon one’s head] See: ON ONE’S HEAD.

[upon the spot] See: ON THE SPOT(1).

[upper] See: KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP, ON ONE’S UPPERS.

[upper crust]{n.}, {informal} The richest, most famous, or important people in a certain place; the highest class. •/It is a school that only the children of the upper crust can afford./

[upper hand] or [whip hand] {n.} Controlling power; advantage. •/In the third round the champion got the upper hand over his opponent and knocked him out./ •/The cowboy trained the wild horse so that he finally got the whip hand and tamed the horse./

[upper story]{n.} 1. A floor or level of a building above the first floor. •/The apartment house where Gene lives is five stories high and he lives in one of the upper stories./ 2. {slang} A person’s head or brain. •/Lulu has nobody home in the upper story./ •/Bill’s sister says he is weak in the upper story./

[Upsadaisy!] or [Upsee-daisy!] or [Upsy-daisy!] {adv. phr.} — A popular exclamation used when just about anything is lifted, particularly a small child raised to his or her highchair or bed. •/"Upsee-daisy!" the nurse said with a smile on her face, as she lifted the baby from its bed./

[ups and downs]{n. phr.} Vicissitudes; alternating periods between good and bad times; changes in fortune. •/He is now a wealthy stock trader, but at the beginning of his career he, too, had many ups and downs./

[upset the applecart] or [upset one’s applecart] {v. phr.}, {informal} To ruin a plan or what is being done, often by surprise or accident; change how things are or are being done, often unexpectedly; ruin or mix up another person’s success or plan for success. •/John upset the other team’s applecart by hitting a home run in the last inning and we won the game./ •/We are planning a surprise party for Bill, so don’t let Mary upset the applecart by telling him before the party./ •/Frank thinks he is going to be the boss, but I’ll upset his applecart the first chance I get./ Compare: ROCK THE BOAT.

[upside down]{adv. phr.} Overturned so that the bottom is up and the top is down. •/The ladybug lay upside down in the sand and was unable to take off./ •/The problem with this company is that everything is upside down; we need a new C.E.O./

[upstairs] See: NOBODY HOME UPSTAIRS.

[up the creek] or [up the creek without a paddle] {adj. phr.}, {informal} In trouble or difficulty and unable to do anything about it; stuck. •/Father said that if the car ran out of gas in the middle of the desert, we would be up the creek without a paddle./ •/I’ll be up the creek if I don’t pass this history test./ Compare: DEEP WATER, IN THE SOUP, UP A TREE, OUT OF LUCK.

[up tight] or [uptight] {adj.}, {slang}, {informal} Worried, irritated, excessively eager or anxious. •/Why are you so uptight about getting that job? The more you worry, the less you’ll succeed./

[up to]{prep.} 1. As far, as deep, or as high as. •/The water in the pond was only up to John’s knees./ •/Mary is small and just comes up to Bill’s chest./ •/The shovel sank in the soft mud all the way up to the handle./ 2. Close to; approaching. •/The team did not play up to its best today./ •/Because of the rain, the number of people at the party didn’t come up to the number we expected./ 3. As high as; not more than; as much or as many as. •/Pick any number up to ten./ •/There were up to eight fire engines at the fire./ 4. or [up till] or [up until] — Until; till. •/Up to her fourth birthday, the baby slept in a crib./ •/Up to now I always thought John was honest./ •/We went swimming up till breakfast time./ •/Up until last summer we always went to the beach for our vacation./ 5. Capable of; fit for; equal to; strong or well enough for. •/We chose Harry to be captain because we thought he was up to the job./ •/Mother is sick and not up to going out to the store./ 6. Doing or planning secretly; ready for mischief. •/What are you up to with the matches, John?/ •/Mrs. Watson was sure that the boys were up to no good, because they ran when they saw her coming./ 7. Facing as a duty; to be chosen or decided by; depending on. •/It’s up to you to get to school on time./ •/I don’t care when you cut the grass. When you do it is up to you./

[up-to-date]{adj.} Modem; contemporary; the latest that technology can offer. •/"I want an up-to-date dictionary of American idioms," Mr. Lee said, "that has all the latest Americanisms in it."/ Contrast: STATE-OF-THE-ART.