to double up
Preserved but no longer current.
To fold together. "To double up the fist" is to fold the fingers together so as to make the hand into a fist. "To double a person up" is to strike him in the wind, so as to make him double up with pain.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to double up” mean?
To fold together. "To double up the fist" is to fold the fingers together so as to make the hand into a fist. "To double a person up" is to strike him in the wind, so as to make him double up with pain.
Is “to double up” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.