upright
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dimber damber upright man
obsolete slang The leader of a band of thieves, miscreants, or gypsies. He walked through the town, this dimber damber upright man, quietly marking people as targets for his band of rogues who lurked in the shadows.
an empty sack cannot stand upright
One must eat in order to carry out one's duties. Have some dinner before you go back to your research. An empty sack cannot stand upright, you know.
bolt upright
1. verb To suddenly sit or stand up from a reclining position. I bolted upright in bed when the phone rang in the middle of the night.
2. adjective Very erect in posture. The teacher instructed us to be bolt upright on the stage during the assembly.
sit bolt upright
1. To have a very erect posture while sitting. The teacher demands that we all sit bolt upright during the lesson, scolding us should we begin to slouch. The seat of the train was so stiff that I ended up sitting bolt upright for nearly three hours.
2. To very suddenly or abruptly assume an erect posture while sitting. I awoke from the nightmare and sat bolt upright in my bed. We all sat bolt upright when the principal suddenly barged into class.
An empty sack cannot stand upright.
Prov. A poor or hungry person cannot function properly. Sit down and have something to eat before you go back to work. An empty sack can't stand upright.
sit bolt upright
to sit up straight. Tony sat bolt upright and listened to what the teacher was saying to him. After sitting bolt upright for almost an hour in that crowded airplane, I swore I would never fly again.
bolt upright
Precisely perpendicular, erect in carriage, as in She sat bolt upright in her pew. This expression was used in slightly different form by Chaucer in the late 1300s: "She was ... long as a mast and upright as a bolt" ( The Miller's Tale).
bolt ˈupright
with your back very straight in an upright position: The noise woke her suddenly and she sat bolt upright in bed.bolt upright
In a rigidly vertical position: sat bolt upright.