Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. well-off, provided with sufficient money.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Uppish, rampant, crowing, full of Money. He is very Uppish, well lined in the Fob; also brisk.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1830		Egan Finish to the Adventures of Tom and Jerry (1889) 74: Things with me are looking rather up-ish; but they have been down-ish a ‘tiny bit’ too long.
1842		C. Mathews Career of Puffer Hopkins 10: A well-fed uppish man.
1854		E.L. Sloan ‘Mrs. Sleek’ in Bard’s Offering 69: Bill [...] Cursed the folks who at drinking were uppish and nice.

2. proud, arrogant [Johnson terms this a ‘low word’, thus its inclusion here, but OED lists as SE].

c.1698		see sense 1.
1709		R. Steele Tatler No. 230 n.p.: The Jacks, and others of that Kidney are very uppish, and alert upon’t.
1714		R. Wodrow Analecta II (1842) 295: I hear the Jacobites are grouen very uppish of late.
1719		in D’Urfey Pills to Purge Melancholy V 340: In vain you’re so upish, in vain you’re so upish, / You’re down ev’ry foot.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1740		R. North Examen 48: It seems daring to rail at Informers, Projectors, and Officers was not uppish enough, but his Lordship must rise so high as daring to limit the Power and Revenue of the Crown.
1778		F. Burney Evelina (1861) 287: Miss is so uppish this morning, that I think I had better not speak to her.
1788		J. O’Keeffe Farmer 16: Must bounce a few, Betty’s so uppish – likely won’t have me else.
1824		R.B. Peake Americans Abroad II ii: He’s so uppish.
1834		‘Jack Downing’ Andrew Jackson 44: The gineral has bin grately abused for an uppish temper.
1846		C.M. Kirkland Western Clearings 171: You pretend to think everybody alike; but when it comes to the pint, you’re a sight more uppish than the ra’al quality at home.
1858		Northern Whig 1 Dec. 7/1: She’s the most conceited, selfish, uppish, wasteful wench in all Brigham!
1867		R. Whiteing Mr Sprouts, His Opinions 24: I felt that uppish like when they blowed theirselves out o’ wind that I puts my two fingers in my mouth and gives a regular wistle.
1879		‘’Arry on the ’Igher Education of Women’ in Punch 5 Apr. in P. Marks (2006) 151: You’re getting too uppish by arf.
1889		J.K. Jerome Three Men in a Boat 13: Towards Saturday, he got uppish, and went in for weak tea and dry toast.
1895		W. Pett Ridge Minor Dialogues 184: Not but what if a certain young party wasn’t quite so uppish in her manner, I might have a dash at it.
1905		Sporting Times 15 Apr. 2/3: Sir Alfred piped him off so cold an’ uppish, as much as to say, blymy, if these sorts is a-comin’.
1908		‘Old Sleuth’ Dock Rats of N.Y. (2006) 8: He’s been mighty uppish about you.
1907		Lone Hand (Sydney) July 239/1: ‘Gad! [...] An uppish piece of goods for you!’.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 28 Nov. 12/2: When the once uppish cabman starts to talk feebly about gratitude, he is at the end of his resources [...].
1921		Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 29 June 11/2: An uppish class sometimes mistakles itself for an upper class.
1934		Wodehouse Right Ho, Jeeves 67: Grovel, and the best of them get uppish.
1938		X. Herbert Capricornia (1939) 457: [He] answered his nod with a blink. Uppish, thought Mark.
1941		A. Mendes ‘Afternoon in Trinidad’ in Lehmann Penguin New Writing No. 6 81: Recently Dodo had been getting a little too uppish for their liking.
c.1940–5		‘Myles na gCopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 232: If these uppish highly trained writing savants [...] insist on dragging in foreign words.
1950		A. Buckeridge Jennings Goes To School 39: If Darbishire starts getting uppish I’ll do him as well.
1953		I. Hamilton Till Human Voices Wake Us 5: Well have to do something about [the Maoris]. They’re getting uppish.
1961		D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 45: The young people were a little more ‘uppish’ in their taste.
1969		R. Rendell Best Man To Die (1981) 161: Crocker looked uppish.
1973		H. Leonard Da (1981) Act II: Don’t get uppish with me, sonny Jim.

3. tipsy.

1726

Vanbrugh Journey to London III i Lady Head.: Not so drunk, I hope, but that he can drive us? Sew.: Yes, yes, madam, he drives best when he’s a little uppish [F&H].

4. irritable, easily offended.

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 91: Uppish, testy, quarrelsome.
1912		Conan Doyle Lost World 89: ‘He seemed an uppish old bird. His brothers of science don’t seem too fond of him, either’.