sit up and take notice en · VERB
Meanings
-
To start to pay attention suddenly.
But when we streaked through Doncaster at all but a mile-a-minute, with a miraculously clear road, in no more than 37 min. 18 sec. from the York start, I began to sit up and take notice.
1949 November and December, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 365:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sits up and takes notice | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| sitting up and taking notice | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| sat up and took notice | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| sat up and taken notice | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |