up for the downstroke

adjective

Ready to get funky; ready to dance with abandon.

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Meanings

adjectiveup for the downstroke (not comparable)
  1. not comparableslangReady to get funky; ready to dance with abandon.

    Time to get seriously up for the downstroke. Prepare to dance harder y'all!

    2018 September 1, “The South London Soul Train Halloween Special with Afro Cluster (Live)”, in Resident Advisor
    3 more examples

    The horn-fueled title track gave Parliament their first Top 10 appearance on the Billboard R&B charts, doing James Brown proud with its stuttering funk groove, its singalong chorus imploring us all to “Get up for the downstroke.”

    2013 November 14, Ed Masley, “10 best Parliament and Funkadelic albums”, in The Republic

    George Clinton is still a touring machine at age 76, still getting up for the downstroke, still giving you more of what you're funking for, still tearing the roof off the sucker.

    2018 March 20, “The 40 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: March 19-25, 2018”, in The Stranger

    The second those iconic beats dropped, we knew it was time to “get up for the downstroke.”

    2018 July 24, Nikki Love, “George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic deliver a funky good time”, in Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Origin

From the album Up for the Down Stroke (1974) by Parliament and the eponymous song.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

up for the downstroke. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/up%20for%20the%20downstroke

MLA

“up for the downstroke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/up%20for%20the%20downstroke. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “up for the downstroke,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/up%20for%20the%20downstroke.

Source: up for the downstroke on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.