bang-up

[ bang-uhp ]

adjective

, Informal.

1. excellent; extraordinary.

bang up

verb

1. slang:prison.
   tr, adverb to lock up (a prisoner) in his or her cell, esp for the night

Word History and Origins

Origin of bang-up¹

First recorded in 1800–10; adj. use of verb phrase bang up

Idioms and Phrases

Damage, injure, as in Banging up the car a second time will make Dad very unhappy , or Mother fell down the stairs and was all banged up . The verb to bang alone had this meaning from the 1500s on, up being added in the late 1800s. In the early 1800s it gave rise to the colloquial adjective bang-up , for excellent or very successful, as in David did a bang-up job baking the birthday cake .

Example Sentences

Taylor’s downtown dealership did a bang-up business with Christian churchgoers because his ads vowed, “No Sunday selling.”

From Los Angeles Times

If there was any whimpering in that bang-up job, it was the smothered chorus of millions of people being eaten by vampires.

From Washington Post

Zahler’s skill at staging a bang-up set piece is undeniable, and he displays a welcomely nuanced interest in the blurry, gray lines that separate good and evil.

From New York Times

Carlson doesn't really have arguments or evidence, but he does do a bang-up impression of someone sarcastically brushing aside nonsense.

From Salon

The Old Prioress, who precedes Lidoine as the order’s Mother Superior, comes to a grisly end early in the opera, with a bang-up death scene that some singers approach with Meryl Streep-like meticulousness.

From New York Times

Related Words

• excellent
• exceptional
• high-quality
• marvelous
• outstanding
• superb