bang-up

[bang-uhp] /ˈbæŋˌʌp/
adjective, Informal.
1.
excellent; extraordinary.
Origin
1800-10; adj. use of verb phrase bang up

bang1

[bang] /bæŋ/
noun
1.
a loud, sudden, explosive noise, as the discharge of a gun.
2.
a resounding stroke or blow:
a nasty bang on the head.
3.
Informal. a sudden movement or show of energy:
He started with a bang.
4.
energy; vitality; spirit:
The bang has gone out of my work.
5.
Informal. sudden or intense pleasure; thrill; excitement:
a big bang out of seeing movies.
6.
Slang: Vulgar. sexual intercourse.
7.
Printing and Computer Slang. an exclamation point.
verb (used with object)
8.
to strike or beat resoundingly; pound:
to bang a door.
9.
to hit or bump painfully:
to bang one's ankle on a chair leg.
10.
to throw or set down roughly; slam:
He banged the plates on the table.
11.
Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.
verb (used without object)
12.
to strike violently or noisily:
to bang on the door.
13.
to make a loud, sudden, explosive noise like that of a violent blow:
The guns banged all night.
14.
Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.
adverb
15.
suddenly and loudly; abruptly or violently:
She fell bang against the wall.
16.
directly; precisely; right:
He stood bang in the middle of the flower bed.
Verb phrases
17.
bang into, to collide with; bump into:
The truck skidded on the ice and banged into a parked car.
18.
bang up, to damage:
A passing car banged up our fender.
Idioms
19.
bang off, Chiefly British Slang. immediately; right away.
20.
bang on, Chiefly British Slang. terrific; marvelous; just right:
That hat is absolutely bang on.
Origin
1540-50; 1930-35 for def 5; compare Old Norse banga to beat, hammer, Low German bangen to strike, beat, German dialect banken; perhaps orig. imitative
Synonyms
2. smack, clout, box, wallop, sock, bash, cuff.
British Dictionary definitions for bang up

bang up

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

bang1

/bæŋ/
noun
1.
a short loud explosive noise, as of the bursting of a balloon or the report of a gun
2.
a hard blow or knock, esp a noisy one; thump: he gave the ball a bang
3.
(informal) a startling or sudden effect: he realized with a bang that he was late
4.
(slang) an injection of heroin or other narcotic
5.
(taboo, slang) an act of sexual intercourse
6.
(US & Canadian, slang) get a bang out of, to experience a thrill or excitement from
7.
with a bang, successfully: the party went with a bang
verb
8.
to hit or knock, esp with a loud noise; bump: to bang one's head
9.
to move noisily or clumsily: to bang about the house
10.
to close (a door, window, etc) or (of a door, etc) be closed noisily; slam
11.
(transitive) to cause to move by hitting vigorously: he banged the ball over the fence
12.
to make or cause to make a loud noise, as of an explosion
13.
(transitive) (Brit)
  1. to cause (stock prices) to fall by rapid selling
  2. to sell rapidly in (a stock market), thus causing prices to fall
14.
(taboo, slang) to have sexual intercourse with
15.
(intransitive) (slang) to inject heroin, etc
16.
(informal) bang for one's buck, value for money: this option offers more bang for your buck
17.
(informal) bang goes, that is the end of: bang goes my job in Wapping
18.
bang one's head against a brick wall, to try to achieve something impossible
adverb
19.
with a sudden impact or effect: bang went his hopes of winning, the car drove bang into a lamp-post
20.
precisely: bang in the middle of the road
21.
(slang) bang to rights, caught red-handed
22.
go bang, to burst, shut, etc, with a loud noise See also bang up
Word Origin
C16: from Old Norse bang, banga hammer; related to Low German bangen to beat; all of imitative origin

bang2

/bæŋ/
noun
1.
a fringe or section of hair cut straight across the forehead
verb (transitive)
2.
to cut (the hair) in such a style
3.
to dock (the tail of a horse, etc)
Word Origin
C19: probably short for bangtail short tail

bang3

/bæŋ/
noun
1.
a variant spelling of bhang
Word Origin and History for bang up

bang

v.

1540s, "to strike hard with a loud blow," from a Scandinavian sourse akin to Old Norse banga "to pound, hammer" of echoic origin. Slang meaning "have sexual intercourse with" first recorded 1937. Bang-up "excellent, first-rate," 1820, probably shortened from phrase bang up to the mark. The noun is recorded from late 16c.

This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper

[T.S. Eliot, "Hollow Men," 1925]

bang up in Medicine

Bang (bāng, bäng), Bernhard Lauritz Frederik. 1848-1932.

Danish veterinarian who discovered Brucella abortus, the agent of brucellosis in cattle and of undulant fever in humans.

Slang definitions & phrases for bang up

bang

adverb

Precisely; exactly: bang on the hour (1820s+)

noun
  1. A very pleasurable sensation; surge of joy; thrill; kick, rush: This'll give you a big bang (1930+)
  2. An injection of a narcotic, esp an intravenous shot of heroin (1910+ Narcotics)
  3. The sex act: The wedding night, you idiot. The first bang. How was it?
  4. An exclamation point; shriek: Let's stick a bang on it to dress it up (Printers 1930s+, computer 1980s+)
  5. A drink of liquor; shot: Give me a bang of Jaeger Meister (1990s+) v1x To do the sex act with or to; copulate with: He banged her twice and left happy (1916+) 2 To be in a youth gang; be a gangbanger
Related Terms

big bang, gang bang, get a bang (or charge) out of someone or something, go over with a bang, whizbang

[late 1980s+ Los Angeles gangs; from the rhyme, but influenced by gang bang, ''serial sex act done by a group of males to one woman'']


bang-up

adjective

Excellent; superior: I have some bang-up gin/ You've done a bang-up job on that report, Smythe (1830s+ British)


Idioms and Phrases with bang up

bang up

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.

bang

also see: