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put up or shut up

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
put up or shut up  (informal)
if you say someone should put up or shut up, you mean they should either take action in order to do what they have been talking about or stop talking about it You keep saying you're going to ask her out. Well, put up or shut up.
See put the arm on, get back up, put the ball in court, the ball is in court, put to bed, put the bite on, put a bomb under, put the boot in, put the brakes on, lay cards on the table, put the cart before the horse, put the cat among the pigeons, be on edge, put the clock back, put the fear of God into, put out feelers, put feet up, put finger on, put the finger on, Put the flags out!, put flesh on, put a foot wrong, put foot down, put foot in it, put foot to the floor, put the frighteners on, put on a front, put in a good word for, send on a guilt trip, hold a gun to head, put hair on chest, put hand in pocket, get head down, put hand on heart, put head above the parapet, put heads together, put heart and soul into, put the heat on, put through hell, put on hold, get own house in order, put ideas into head, put the kibosh on, put over knee, put the knife in, put life on the line, put the make on, put on the map, put under the microscope, put through the mill, put in mind of, put mind to it, put mind at rest, put on edge, put the mockers on, put out of misery, put money on, put money where mouth is, put in motion, put neck on the line, put oar in, get one over on, put one over on, put nose out of joint, put out to pasture, put through paces, put paid to, I wouldn't put it past, put on a pedestal, put pen to paper, put in the picture, Put that in your pipe and smoke it!, put in place, put the record straight, put a rocket under, put down roots, put off the scent, put the screws on, put the seal on, put in the shade, put shirt on, put the skids under, Put a sock in it!, put a spoke in wheel, put on the spot, put thinking cap on, put in in two penn'orth, put two and two together, put two cents in, put two fingers up at, get the wind up, put words in mouth, put a spanner in the works, put through the wringer, put years on
See also: put, shut, up

put up or shut up
either improve a bad situation or stop complaining about it My father would not say, “Put up or shut up,” but that's what he clearly meant.
See also: put, shut, up


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