Meaning of up a stump | Babel Free

Definitions

At a loss, puzzled, in a bind.

informal

Examples

“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.”

CEFR level