shatting on one's uppers

phrase

Completely out of money; broke.

First used 19th c.
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Meanings

phrase
  1. USslangCompletely out of money; broke.First known use 19th c.

    ‘She has to blow and she's shatting on her uppers. She figures the peeper can get her some dough.’

    1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 188

Origin

From variant of shitting + uppers.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shatting on one's uppers. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatting%20on%20one's%20uppers

MLA

“shatting on one's uppers.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatting%20on%20one's%20uppers. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shatting on one's uppers,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatting%20on%20one's%20uppers.

Source: shatting on one's uppers on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.