Sit-up-and-beg
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A bicycle having handlebars that are rather high and curve backwards, so that the rider sits upright rather than hunching forward; a roadster. UK
"I hadn't even found a proper bike shop – the one I did come across was full of the equivalent of our sit-up-and-begs."
- 1 Of a posture adopted by a person steering a vehicle (such as an aeroplane, car, or motorcycle): sitting up straight, not bent forward or leaning back. UK, not-comparable
"The pilot is thus in a sit-up-and-beg attitude and so seriously exposed to the elements that, as Wing Commander Wallis admits, a hailstorm would probably mean a forced landing."
- 2 Of a bicycle: having handlebars that are rather high and curve backwards, so that the rider sits upright rather than hunching forward; also, of the handlebars of a bicycle: rather high and curving backwards, thus requiring the rider to sit upright. UK, not-comparable, specifically
"Manufacturers introduced many incremental improvements, […] By 1930 these changes extended the range of cycles that manufacturers could offer from the ‘roadster’ (steel frame, three-speed hub gears, level-operated brakes and ‘sit-up-and-beg’ handlebars) to lightweight racing bikes (alloy steel frames, ten or more derailleur gears, cable-operated brakes and aluminium alloy drop handlebars)."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The pilot is thus in a sit-up-and-beg attitude and so seriously exposed to the elements that, as Wing Commander Wallis admits, a hailstorm would probably mean a forced landing."
Etymology
From sit up + and + beg, likening the position to a dog sitting up on its hindquarters and begging by holding its front paws out.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.