beat-up, n. and a. slang. Chiefly U.S.
[cf. beat v.1 40 f, i.]
a. n. (See quot. 1940.) b. adj. Worn out, shabby, showing signs of over-use.
| 1940 N. Monks Squadrons Up! i. 14 Comes back over the 'drome, above the heads..twenty feet off the ground... The boys call this a ‘beat-up’. 1946 Amer. Speech XXI. 251 Beat up, an adjectival phrase of all work meaning damaged, worn-out or of unimpressive appearance. 1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye ii. 11 He showed us this old beat-up Navajo blanket. 1953 W. R. Burnett Vanity Row xviii. 135 The girl was sitting once more in the beat-up leather chair. |