stick-up
Britishnoun
verb
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slang (tr) to rob, esp at gunpoint
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informal to support or defend
stick up for oneself
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Project from a surface, as in That little cowlick of his sticks up no matter what you do . [Early 1400s]
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Put up a poster or notice, as in Will you stick up this announcement on the bulletin board? [Late 1700s]
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Rob, especially at gunpoint, as in The gang concentrated on sticking up liquor stores and gas stations . This usage, dating from the mid-1800s, gave rise to the colloquial phrase, stick 'em up , a robber's order to a victim to raise his or her hands above the head. [1930s]
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.