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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
What does this phrase mean?
Ray Davies, the songwriter for the British band 'The Kinks', wrote a song called 'Low Budget' with a line that goes "We're all on our uppers, we're all going skint, I used to suck cigars but now I suck Polo mints ... I'm on a Low Budget"
"We're all on our uppers" is the phrase in question. What does this mean? How is it derived? I understand the rest of it. This must be slang - but is it general usage slang or some other? The only meaning that I can guess at is that he's saying that everyone he knows is taking 'uppers', or 'speed', to reduce hunger and, consequently, reduce the amount of money they'll have to pay for food. Any other thoughts?
Thank you.
"We're all on our uppers" is the phrase in question. What does this mean? How is it derived? I understand the rest of it. This must be slang - but is it general usage slang or some other? The only meaning that I can guess at is that he's saying that everyone he knows is taking 'uppers', or 'speed', to reduce hunger and, consequently, reduce the amount of money they'll have to pay for food. Any other thoughts?
Thank you.
Top answer
g. ). " The opposite of an upper is a downer or a depressant such as alcohol.
- g.
- ).
- " The opposite of an upper is a downer or a depressant such as alcohol.
- And yes you are right about it being slang.
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2 Answers
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When he says "on uppers" he means he is on drugs that stimulate him (e.g. marijuana, certain types of pills, etc.). And "going broke" as a result of spending too much money on these "uppers."
The opposite of an upper is a downer or a depressant such as alcohol.
And yes you are right about it being slang.
The opposite of an upper is a downer or a depressant such as alcohol.
And yes you are right about it being slang.
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Anonymous"We're all on our uppers" is the phrase in question. What does this mean? How is it derived?We are all very poor. We can't even afford to have our shoes fixed. The soles (lower part of the shoe) are completely worn out. All that is left of our shoes is the upper parts - the 'uppers'. We are (walking) on our uppers. (Obviously, not literally; the
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