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English
Noun
hang-up (plural hang-ups)
- (informal) An emotional difficulty or a psychological inhibition.
- Hypernym: issue
- Near-synonyms: neurosis, obsession, complex
2013, Nic Fleming, at BBC, Sex Lessons, British Style:We’re said to have so many hang-ups that we don’t even talk about sex until we’re in the pub, and to need to be blind drunk before anything approaching physical contact occurs.
2021 October 30, Rosanna Greenstreet, quoting Bertie Carvel, “Bertie Carvel: ‘I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body’”, in The Guardian:I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body. My wife sometimes reminds me that, instead of saying, “I want to be thin”, I could say, “I want to be happy”, which is profoundly good advice.
2022 May 26, Jonathan Jones, “Zombie workers and sexual hang-ups: how Edvard Munch foresaw our lonely lives – review”, in The Guardian:As if the overpowering sense of grief wasn’t enough, Munch’s art unashamedly confesses to massive sexual hangups.
2022 September 13, Pamela Stephenson Connolly, “How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working”, in The Guardian:How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working
- An unforeseen obstacle to progress; a hitch or delay.
- Synonym: hiccup
- Near-synonym: setback
1951 (written), Jack Kerouac, On the Road: The Original Scroll, Penguin, published 2008, →OCLC, page 115:What a hang up I got into at once! As I look back on it it's incredible that I could have been so damned dumb.
2022 August 14, Adam Morton, “Australia has a steep hill to climb on electric cars – but if ever there was a time, it’s now”, in The Guardian:Consumers say yes, the numbers add up, industry is largely on board and Labor has no policy hang-ups. This week could be the turning point[.]
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