two-up

American  

[too-uhp] / ˈtuˈʌp /

noun

1. a game in which two players bet that two tossed coins will land either with matching or nonmatching sides facing up.

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two-up British  

noun

1. a gambling game in which two coins are tossed or spun. Bets are made on both coins landing with the same face uppermost

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Etymology

Origin of two-up

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

Example Sentences

McDowell took a two-up lead on No. 16, making a sliding, curling 15-foot downhill putt for birdie that left him two up with two holes to play.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025

And riding two-up was such a pleasure that it makes me want to abandon traditional diamond-framed e-bikes forever.

From The Verge • Aug. 22, 2022

Instead they are objects of war and anxiety, two-up, two-down, too much.

From The Guardian • Sep. 8, 2019

Ringo, born Richard Starkey, moved to the modest two-up two-down house at 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle, Liverpool, when he was three years old and lived there until he was 21.

From Reuters • Mar. 25, 2016

He could think of nothing but the two-up school, which had swallowed all his spare money before he was married.

From Jonah by Stone, Louis