ups and downs
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The twists and turns of fortune; one's successes and reverses.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
A man's life has its ups and downs.Lúc lên voi, lúc xuống chó.
Tatoeba sentence #26431 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
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 “ups and downs” mean?
The twists and turns of fortune; one's successes and reverses.
Is “ups and downs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.