up the pole
idiomatic phrase
British
: mentally unsound
—used informally in an exaggerated way
The pressure of his job nearly drove him up the pole.
… my mum was up the pole worrying about how she was going to pay the bills.—
Carolyn Leckie
Carolyn LeckieExamples of up the pole in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Strip clubs increasingly featured pole dancing, and dancers invented more tricks — climbing up the pole and performing splits on the ceiling, twerking upside-down, and plummeting back to the ground.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 10 Aug. 2024
And in terms of the trick of hanging upside down and being able to actually climb up the pole — that was insane.
—Max Gao, Variety, 23 July 2024
The ball hit halfway up the pole bracing the batter’s eye at backfield No. 1 before caroming into play.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 13 Mar. 2023
McGill, who turns 24 on Sept. 20, has had a varied background in sports, participating in soccer and lacrosse as a youth before running cross country and taking up the pole vault at Fallston High.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 1 Sep. 2022
This particular utility box is about two-thirds of the way up the pole.
—Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2022
Slabs of different colors crawl up the pole, which is removeable and can be installed in two different places on the Harrison Center's new rooftop deck.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Mar. 2021
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Celia Ford, Vox, 10 Aug. 2024
And in terms of the trick of hanging upside down and being able to actually climb up the pole — that was insane.
—Max Gao, Variety, 23 July 2024
The ball hit halfway up the pole bracing the batter’s eye at backfield No. 1 before caroming into play.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 13 Mar. 2023
McGill, who turns 24 on Sept. 20, has had a varied background in sports, participating in soccer and lacrosse as a youth before running cross country and taking up the pole vault at Fallston High.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 1 Sep. 2022
This particular utility box is about two-thirds of the way up the pole.
—Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2022
Slabs of different colors crawl up the pole, which is removeable and can be installed in two different places on the Harrison Center's new rooftop deck.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Mar. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near up the pole
Cite this Entry
“Up the pole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/up%20the%20pole. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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