Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

up a stump

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.45 in modern English

Syllables: up- a s-tump
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

At a loss, puzzled, in a bind.

Informal

Example Sentences

"GEO. Why it's got to. Suppose we wandered out of it and took a chance at the language on our own responsibility, where the nation would we be? Up a stump, that's where. Our only safety is in sticking like wax to the text."
"Manager Dahlen said that Callahan and Stengel were so evenly matched that he was "up a stump" trying to pick between them."
"Whereas your ordinary middle-ranking persons, they never had the least notion of what it was, so naturally they were up a stump every time they come across it, you see."
"In fact, Darwin was unable to decide on a suitable present, telling his roommate that he was up a stump about what to get for his sister and new brother-in-law."

Usage

Informal

Synonyms

in trouble up the stump

Questions

What does up a stump mean?: At a loss, puzzled, in a bind.

How to pronounce up a stump

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “up a stump”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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