Meaning of shape up or ship out | Babel Free

Definitions

To either improve one's behavior or else be required to leave; to either improve one's performance in an activity or else withdraw from that activity completely.

idiomatic

Examples

“Portions of those letters quoted by Bruccoli indicate that though Hemingway could be sympathetic, he used a lot of ink telling Fitzgerald to shape up or ship out.”

CEFR level