put up or shut up

Idioms  

1. Act on what you are saying or stop talking about it, as in You've been citing evidence for months but never presented it—now put up or shut up. This somewhat impolite term, often put as a command, is believed to come from gambling, in which a card player is told to ante up or withdraw. A second theory maintains that it means either put up your fists to fight or back down. [1870s] Also see put one's money where one's mouth is.

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Example Sentences

Three years later he faced down internal party division, challenging his rivals to "put up or shut up" He defeated Tory MP John Redwood in a ballot of his MPs.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

"It's a case of put up or shut up at this point."

From Reuters • Sep. 12, 2022

"It's put up or shut up," he said.

From Salon • Jan. 3, 2022

“I say to the people, put up or shut up, and I say that with great anger,” Stein said in court, according to a transcript of the hearing.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2021

Conant was telling him point-blank to put up or shut up.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik