Meaning of stitch up | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To join or close by sewing.
2. To fabricate (e.g. a legal case).
3. To maliciously or dishonestly incriminate someone; to set up (in the sense trap or ensnare)
   Australia, British, slang
4. To prank, trick, or deceive (a person), whether or not malice is intended.
   Australia, slang
5. To complete arrangements for (a situation), especially clandestinely or prematurely and for one's own benefit.
   Australia, slang

Examples

“To make Capons […] [S]ome for this Purpoſe make it their Buſineſs after Harveſt-time to go to Markets for buying up Chickens, and between Michaelmas and All-hollantide caponize the Cocks, when they have got large enough to have Stones [i.e., testes] of ſuch a Bigneſs that they may be pulled out; for if they are too little, it can't be done; […] [M]aking a Cut here big enough to put her Finger in, which ſhe thruſts under the Guts, and with it rakes or tears out the Stone that lies neareſt to it. This done, ſhe performs the very ſame Operation on the other Side of the Cock's Body, and there takes out the other Stone; then ſhe ſtitches up the Wounds, and lets the Fowl go about as at other Times, till the Capon is fatted in a Coup, which is commonly done from Chriſtmas to Candlemas, and after.”

“My second poem is a metrical advertisement of all Lord Byron's works; and for drawing it up, Mr Murray ought, I am sure, to be grateful to me, for it will save him I know not what in paper and printing, as there is little doubt of its being got by heart by all those for whom he stitches up his announcements.”

“Dr. Baer replied that he closes the cyst puncture with Well's clamp forceps when the cyst wall is strong enough. In some cases he stitches up the opening, or ties a string below it when the cyst walls are loose and soft.”

“Applicant purchasing cranes with stitched up eyes—Bird's eyes found to be stitched up and bleeding while it was being conveyed by rail—Cruelty was caused by antecedent stitching up of eyes and not by manner of carriage—Obiter—It may well be that process of stitching up eyes of cranes is cruel practice.”

“Poor making up can ruin a perfect piece of knitting. Put as much thought and effort into the assembly of the pieces as you did into knitting them. […] Do not be tempted to use thread for stitching up. It will pull your knitting out of shape and may even break if you make a sudden movement when you are wearing the garment. […] The only other equipment you will need for stitching up is pins.”

“Up at the spinal unit, rumour has it that they've laid their hands on the right set of spanners this time, so hopefully I'll be stripped down, stitched up and ready to roll by the end of June.”

“Yet, once more, the ripping of words and sentences is counterbalanced by a patching up process. Indeed, thanks to an overflowing of compound words, [Arundhati] Roy is also stitching up words, recomposing her text from its fragments; and the more tattered language is, the easier is it to patch it up, as if the verbal profusion and creation were a way of compensating the profusion of holes and rents.”

““No, Tom,” I said, “as much as I'd like to, I can't let him bleed.” / “No, I mean you could stitch it up. Mrs. Sullivan stitched up Wally that time one of the north-side boys laid him open with a chair leg.” / “And what do I know about stitching up heads?” I said. / “It will be just like stitching up clothes, I would imagine,” Tom said. “Any old woman can do that. How hard can it be?” / “And what would you know about stitching up clothes?” I replied sharply.”

““They warn me that I should not go to far and threaten to stitch up a case against me if I do.”, he said”

“[…] Netanyahu said police and prosecutors had conspired to “stitch up” a case against him […]”

“[…] everyone knew the score, that he was being conned, used by business interests, the sort of scum we hated. It wasn't meant in a bad way, though, just that we could see he was being stitched up.”

“You might think policing in the 1970s was different to policing today. […] However, some things haven't changed all that much particularly if you were 18 at the time as my correspondent, who we'll call Geoff, found. The sad fact is that you never forget being stitched-up and the experience can affect your negative judgment of and attitude to the police for the rest of your life.”

“Before coming on this trip I decided to brush up on my Italian, so I learnt one phrase: "Voglio andare veloce", which translates into "I want to go fast". I test it out on Matteo, undoubtedly butchering it with my Australian accent. He throws his head back and laughs a deep, booming, operatic laugh. For a moment, I think my friend who taught me the phrase has stitched me up and I’ve just said something very crass.”

“The strident deregulatory and anti-union policies of the Coalition have aided the Labor Government. Once a new variation of the Accord has been stitched up the Accord partners have expected that it would be endorsed by the commission.”

“So, by the time these enormous corporate manoeuvres had been stitched up, the Firm controlled, or had an interest in, over a hundred cinemas across Australia.”

“Even before the conference commenced two of the most potentially explosive issues—privatisation and quotas had been stitched up, leading journalists to dub the gathering the "Mogadon conference".”

CEFR level