Etymology

straight-up

Today it means: True; unambiguous; unqualified; plainly so, with no bones about it. Full definition →

Middle English streight up
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromstreight up“straight, erect, not curved or crooked, direct, honest”
  2. English todaystraight-up

From Middle English streight up (“straight, erect, not curved or crooked, direct, honest”), equivalent to straight + up.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishstreight up all →

straight up

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.