hang up meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

hang up

verbalso spelled hang-up

8 senses

To put up to hang.

Idiomatic To terminate a telephone call, originally by hanging the receiver on its hook or cradle thereby automatically disconnecting the line.

When my mother started telling me to be careful over the phone, I threatened to hang up on her.
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me He'd grown up just like me My boy was just like me.1974, Harry Chapin and Sandra Chapin, “Cat's in the Cradle”, in Verities & Balderdash, performed by Harry Chapin:

Figuratively To stop talking.

To keep delayed, suspended, held up, or stuck.

To rob or mug (someone).

To arrest (someone); to send (someone) to prison.

So call up Trudy on the telephone / Send her a letter in the mail / Tell her I'm hung up in Dallas / They won't let me out of this jail1971, Charlie Daniels, “Trudy”, in Charlie Daniels:

To quit (something); to give up or stop doing (something); to abandon (something).

To distress, disadvantage or harm (someone).

noun

Etymology From hang up (verb).

Informal An emotional difficulty or a psychological inhibition, in particular concerning one's sex life.

Near-synonyms: neurosis, obsession, complex
We’re said to have so many hang-ups that we don’t even talk about sex until we’re in the pub, and to need to be blind drunk before anything approaching physical contact occurs.2013, Nic Fleming, at BBC, Sex Lessons, British Style:

3 more examples

I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body. My wife sometimes reminds me that, instead of saying, “I want to be thin”, I could say, “I want to be happy”, which is profoundly good advice.2021 October 30, Rosanna Greenstreet, quoting Bertie Carvel, “Bertie Carvel: ‘I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body’”, in The Guardian:
As if the overpowering sense of grief wasn’t enough, Munch’s art unashamedly confesses to massive sexual hangups.2022 May 26, Jonathan Jones, “Zombie workers and sexual hang-ups: how Edvard Munch foresaw our lonely lives – review”, in The Guardian:
How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working [title]2022 September 13, Pamela Stephenson Connolly, “How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working”, in The Guardian:

An unforeseen obstacle to progress; a hitch or delay.

Near-synonym: setback
What a hang up I got into at once! As I look back on it it's incredible that I could have been so damned dumb.1951 (date written), Jack Kerouac, edited by Howard Cunnell, On the Road: The Original Scroll, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 16 August 2007 (2008 printing), →ISBN, page 115:

1 more example

Consumers say yes, the numbers add up, industry is largely on board and Labor has no policy hang-ups. This week could be the turning point[.]2022 August 14, Adam Morton, “Australia has a steep hill to climb on electric cars – but if ever there was a time, it’s now”, in The Guardian: