Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) honest, legitimate.

1863		Humboldt Register 4 July 2/1: Now that would be business, on the dead up-and-up [DA].
1917		Van Loan ‘The Last Chance’ in Old Man Curry 116: I’ve been on the up and up with the boss.
1926		J. Black You Can’t Win (2000) 27: I think you’re on the square with me, and I’m going to be on the up and up with you.
1934		R.L. Bellem ‘Sleeping Dogs’ in Spicy Detective Sept. 🌐 In the first place I wanted to find out if Leneta’s engagement to Victor Croft was on the up-and-up.
1941		G. Kersh They Die with Their Boots Clean 51: I’ll tell you the honest truth [...] This is on the up-and-up.
1952		I, Mobster 106: Everything on the up-and-up. Everything respectable.
1960		C. MacInnes Mr Love and Justice (1964) 147: But on the up-and-up – legitimate.
1972		N. Algren ‘The Last Carousel’ in Texas Stories (1995) 137: Well I be dawg. That Mexican had been on the up-and-up after all.
1986		F. Taylor Auf Wiedersehen Pet Two 113: This place is on the up and up.
1992		R. Price Clockers 526: I tell you what I want you to do, just to keep this on the up-and-up?
2001		‘Randy Everhard’ Tattoo of a Naked Lady 18: This game’s on the up-and-up.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 82: But on the up&up and low low I gots to make a proper attempt though.
2018		(con. 1963) L. Berney November Road 257: ‘The paperwork that’ll get you [...] into Vietnam,’ Ed said. ‘It’s all on the up-and-up, more or less’.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 95: ‘You come in on the up-and-up, and people still think you’re working for laughs’.

2. (orig. US) in an increasingly favourable, lucky, pleasant situation.

1915		G. Bronson-Howard God’s Man 361: I dropped in among those Fifth Avenue burglars once, just to see if I couldn’t cop a little of their classy work – sort of on the up-and-up, you know, showing I’m as ambitious a little fellow as ever sung a hymn.
1924		D. Hammett ‘Zigzags of Treachery’ in Nightmare Town (2001) 124: She’ll stick, now that it’s done. She’s on the up and up all the time.
1933		C. Himes ‘Prison Mass’ in Coll. Stories (1990) 167: He found everything on the up-and-up, and boy, was he relieved.
1946		G. Gibson Enemy Coast Ahead (1955) 60: In the City stock prices were on the up and up.

3. (US drugs) taking a narcotics cure.

1938		D. Maurer ‘Lang. of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 2 in Lang. Und. (1981).
1959		J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.

4. (N.Z.) recovering one’s health after injury or illness.

2003

McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 148: on the up/up and up Improving health following illness or injury.