nut up
English
editPronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /nʌt ʌp/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Etymology 1
editFrom nut + up (influenced by expressions like "man up" or "shut up"; "nut" refers to testicles, symbolically implying being more manly).
Verb
editnut up (third-person singular simple present nuts up, present participle nutting up, simple past and past participle nutted up)
- (intransitive, slang) To show courage and hide one's apprehension.
Usage notes
edit- Often used in the imperative form, sometimes in the phrase "nut up or shut up".
Synonyms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editendure without complaint
Etymology 2
editFrom nut + up, apparently related to go nuts and do one's nut.
Verb
editnut up (third-person singular simple present nuts up, present participle nutting up, simple past and past participle nutted up)
- (intransitive, slang) To lose one's temper, go nuts.
- 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 103:
- And what if some shit went wrong? Pimp was known to get crazy over minor shit. I didn't know if I could trust him to pull off a job like this without nutting up in the middle of the mix.