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up to something. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
up to something, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
up to something in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Adjective
up to something (not comparable)
- (idiomatic) Doing something mischievous or scheming.
He looks like an angel, but I can tell he's up to something.
1871 October 27, Prince McElhannon (witness), “The Ku-Klux Conspiracy”, in Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States. Georgia, volume II, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, published 1872, →OCLC, page 649:I took my mare and went down to the swamp, for I knew they had been up to something there from the signs I saw.
1922 February, L. B. Thoburn-Clarke, “Amid the Swamps. A True Story of New Zealand Life in the Early Days.”, in The Boy's Own Paper, volume XXXVIII, part 4, London: "Boy's Own Paper" Office, , →OCLC, section II, page 212, column 2:One or another of them will be poking their heads in and see we have been up to something [...]
1955 January 22, S. Roberts, “The Man who Made the Grade: A Short Story”, in Ram Singh, A. K. Mukerji, editors, Thought, air edition, volume VII, number 4, New Delhi: Printed on behalf of Siddhartha Publications Ltd., by R. L. Chadha at Naya Hindustan Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10, column 1:One day Chander, who was always up to something, took it into his head to ring up one or two customers in regard to bills long outstanding on them.
2005 August 25, Simon Cox, “A 'Neet' Solution”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 8 July 2018:If they are doing nothing they are going to be up to something – just send them to prison.
2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC:Shepard: Last I knew, Kaidan was Alliance. Why is he out in the Terminus Systems?
Illusive Man: Officially, it's an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies.
Illusive Man: But they're up to something. And if they sent Commander Alenko, it must be big.
2003 December 13, “Crime scene”, in The Age, Melbourne, Vic.: Nine Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 September 2018:Police knew who they were. They knew they were up to something. All they could do was wait.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:up to something.
Translations
doing something mischievous or scheming
See also
References