ˈpull-up
[f. vbl. phr. to pull up: see pull v. 35 e.]
1. a. The act of pulling up a horse or vehicle; a sudden stop; hence fig.
| 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxiii. 344 That's rayther a sudden pull up, ain't it, Sammy? 1842 ― Let. 27 Feb. (1974) III. 92, I have so much to say that I could fill quires of paper, which renders this sudden pull-up the more provoking. 1854 Mrs. Gaskell North & S. xviii, All his business plans had received a check, a sudden pull-up. 1883 F. M. Peard Contrad. xxxiv, Next they heard wheels, and the pull up at the door. 1950 A. Huxley Let. 6 Aug. (1969) 628 In the plain you and the child can walk abroad without having to take the car and without being fatigued by a pull up. 1980 ‘M. Innes’ Going it Alone xvii. 153 If they did a sudden pull up like that, it wouldn't be much good just driving on. |
b. A lifting-up, encouragement.
| 1872 Geo. Eliot Middlem. IV. viii. 360 He told Mary that his happiness was half owing to Farebrother, who gave him a strong pull-up at the right moment. 1913 G. de H. Vaizey College Girl xxi. 291 Think of all that it means..if we can keep these men from drifting, and give them a pull-up in time! |
2. A place for pulling up; a stopping-place for riders or drivers. Also attrib. Phr. a good pull-up for carmen, a roadside café; also in various transf. and allusive uses.
| 1887 Advertisement, This inn affords one of the most tempting positions for a pull-up house on the road. 1899 Daily News 27 May 4/1 A humble little coffee-shop, which is a good pull-up for carmen. 1902 Daily Chron. 30 Apr. 8/1 A favourite ‘pull up’ for cyclists. 1925 H. V. Morton Heart of London 50 London's tea-shops are of many kinds, from the standardized shop to the good pull-up for millionaires constructed on the Paris plan. 1928 Sunday Express 29 Apr. 4/4 It was known in Hollywood as ‘The Legs of Carmen’, but your censor doubtless attended to that. The censor's office is usually a good pull-up for Carmen. 1935 A. J. Cronin Stars look Down ii. xx. 442 He went into a workman's coffee-house: Good pull up for lorrys was on the sign outside. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke ix. 153 The pull-up on the corner opens at five... I want..to get a bit o' breakfast. 1965 [see diner 2 b]. 1977 Listener 24 Mar. 382/2 Our mother..ran..a ‘caff’—or what was then known as a good pull-up for car-men. |
3. a. The fact or action of pulling something upwards; spec. in physical exercise, the action of pulling up the body by means of a bar or beam held by the hands.
| 1907 M. A. von Arnim Fräulein Schmidt lix. 255 ‘He only wants his wind,’ said Vicki... ‘It certainly was rather a long pull up,’ said I. 1938 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLII. 625 The manœuvres consisted of push-downs and pull-ups from level flight..and push-ups from inverted flight. 1946 J. E. Q. Barford Climbing in Britain iv. 63 The main types of holds are as follows:—A Straight Pull Up. This is a hold over which the fingers can curl as over the rung of a ladder. 1960 E. S. & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby 298 Pull-ups on beam, or other horizontal bar. 1971 A. A. Michele You don't have to Ache i. 21 Here are some things that you should not be doing:..Do not do push-ups or pull-ups. |
b. attrib. or as adj. Designating that which may be pulled up.
| 1919 R. Fry Let. May (1972) II. 451, I live in a house which has..a real Victorian W.C. with a pull up plug. 1973 Country Life 26 July 260/2 The gear lever..is mounted on a floor console with the pull-up handbrake. |