be on the up and up
1. To be honest and respectable. If your behavior isn't on the up and up, no one here will trust you. Don't bother trying to bribe him—he's the only politician in this city who's on the up-and-up. My daughter's fiancé is a very respectable fellow, and his actions are always on the up and up.
2. To be increasingly successful. I'm investing in that company because it's on the up and up these days. Wow, another promotion? Sarah's really on the up-and-up these days, isn't she? A: "What do you know about stocks?" B: "Nothing, but I trust my financial adviser, and he told me this stock is on the up and up."
on the up and up
Often hyphenated as "on the up-and-up."
1. Strictly honest, respectable, and strait-laced. Primarily heard in US. If your behavior isn't on the up and up, no one here will trust you. Don't bother trying to bribe him—he's the only politician in this city who's on the up-and-up.
2. Becoming increasingly successful. Investors are jumping on board after a number of financial analysts predicted that the company's stock was on the up and up. Wow, another promotion? Sarah's really on the up-and-up these days, isn't she?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
on the up and up
Honest, frank, and sincere; legitimate. Literally this term makes little sense; why should “higher and higher” mean open and aboveboard? One writer speculates that something that is “up” can be clearly seen. Despite unclear analogy, the term has been around since the mid-nineteenth century, mainly in America. Dashiell Hammett used it in Red Harvest (1929): “He phoned . . . to find out if the check was on the up and up.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer