nut up

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nʌt ʌp/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From nut +‎ up (influenced by expressions like "man up" or "shut up"; "nut" refers to testicles, symbolically implying being more manly).

Verb

nut up (third-person singular simple present nuts up, present participle nutting up, simple past and past participle nutted up)

1. (intransitive, slang) To show courage and hide one's apprehension.

Usage notes

• Often used in the imperative form, sometimes in the phrase "nut up or shut up".

Synonyms

• man up
• endure
• put up with
• take lying down

Related terms

• shut up

Translations

endure without complaint

Etymology 2

From nut +‎ up, apparently related to go nuts and do one's nut.

Verb

nut up (third-person singular simple present nuts up, present participle nutting up, simple past and past participle nutted up)

1. (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.

Anagrams

• unput