Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) a problem, a delay.

1951		Kerouac On the Road (The Orig. Scroll) (2007) 115: What a hang up I got into at once [...] it’s incredible I could have been so damn dumb.
1965		L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty 81: The only hang-up now is, I wonder if God is a man or a woman.
1977		D. Powis Signs of Crime 187: Hang-up A problem.

2. neurosis, obsession.

1952		J.C. Holmes Go 200: I’m being smothered [...] all these relationships, hangups, conflicts.
1966		Look 27 Dec. 72: Toward the tenth hour, a few hang-ups were pulled out – sex and the church, fear of being unloved.
1971		R.D. Pharr S.R.O. (1998) 59: I wondered why she wouldn’t drop it [i.e. a line of talk] but it was like a hangup with her’.
1977		(con. 1940s) O. Manning Danger Tree 165: He must have his terra incognito – his complexes, hang-ups, impediments?
1984		C. White Life and Times of Little Richard 188: The frank way he deals with the sexual hangups of both the older and younger generation.
1985		‘Thommo’ Dict. Aus. Swearing & Sex Sayings 65: HANG UP — Sexual inhibition, usually caused by family upbringing, social standing or lack of sex education.
1992		K. Lette Llama Parlour 236: ‘But I haff given you every-sing.’ Yeah, I thought, a couple of lifelong hang-ups, an inferiority crisis, an identity crisis and a complete nervous breakdown.
2000		Indep. Rev. 1Feb. 4: The no-sex-please-we’re-British hang-ups.

3. (US drugs) an addiction.

1961

Rigney & Smith Real Bohemia xv: hang-up a fixed pattern of behaviour [...] a habit is one’s hang-up.

4. (US) a boring, irritating person.

1968

‘Hy Lit’ Hy Lit’s Unbelievable Dict. of Hip Words 30: party pooper – A drag person; a cat or bird who is not a swinger or with the game; a bring-down or hang-up!