Dictionary

know which end is up en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From the common marking this end up on parcels to guide proper transport.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To possess sound judgment or common sense; to have a clear understanding of a situation.
   • He was too stoned to know which end was up.
   • “[B]elieve me, she is some catch for the right boy—for a boy which knows which end is up.” 2010, Gordon Lish, “The Friend”, in Collected Fictions, →ISBN, page 243:
   • “I'll gladly take criticism from a cop who knows which end is up and isn't afraid to do the job the way it should be done.” 2005, John C. Hefley, Failure Equals Death, →ISBN, page 29:
   • He's so in love, he doesn't know which end is up. 1992, Dorothy Garlock, Glorious Dawn, →ISBN:
   • “When someone doesn't know which end is up, who knows why they do things.” 2011, Richard North Patterson, Silent Witness, →ISBN, page 277:
   • The whole company is in disarray! Nobody knows which end is up. 2011, Catherine McGuinness, Emperors' Clothes, →ISBN, →ISBN:
   • “I'm not some naïve, virginal little nothing who doesn't know which end is up.” 2009, Lis Wiehl, April Henry, Face of Betrayal, →ISBN, page 145:

Forms

Relateds

know one's way around · know which side one's bread is buttered on

Synonyms

know which way is up

Translations (5)

da vide hvilken vej der vender op (understanding in a specific situation) · pl znać się na rzeczy (understanding in a specific situation) · ru понима́ть, что к чему́ (understanding in a specific situation) · fi olla pihalla (understanding in a specific situation) · fi olla kärryillä (understanding in a specific situation)