Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a dance.

1861

(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor III 202/1: It was a penny a dance for each of ’em as danced, and each stand-up took a quarter of an hour.

2. a snack taken standing up; the snack bar where this takes place.

1882		‘’Arry on a Jury’ in Punch 15 Apr. 177/2: Twenty minutes is all they allows you for ‘pecking’ the ’ole of the day. / Just time for a rush and a ‘stand-up’.
1897		‘Mark Twain’ Following Equator 143: He halted a moment in front of the best restaurant, then glanced at his clothes and passed on, and got his breakfast at a ‘stand-up’ [DA].

3. (also stand-up job) sexual intercourse when both partners are standing up; also attrib.

1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
1966		Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 90: stand up job (’50s) anal entry done in a standing position.
2006		in D. Seabrook Jack of Jumps (2007) 314: I occasionally go with a prostitute for [...] a stand-up bunk-up.

4. (orig. US) the act of ‘standing someone up’, e.g. breaking an appointment, reneging on a debt; thus give a stand-up v., to miss a scheduled meeting, esp. to break a date.

1895		Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) 9 Sept. 7/6: [of a defaulting boarder] ‘[She] never let on dat he’d giv’ her der stan’-up’.
1937		D. Fuchs Low Company 53: ‘A stand-up!’ shrieked Shorty after he found his wheedling useless.
1947		I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 92: If Betty liked him the way she said she did, he didn’t see why she hadn’t given this other guy a stand-up.
1955		(con. 1934) H. Robbins A Stone for Danny Fisher 99: Maybe she was giving me a stand-up. I’d give her five more minutes.

5. (US, also stood-up) a police identification parade.

1904		Number 1500 Life In Sing Sing 257: Stood-Up. Placing in line for identification.
1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 208/2: Stand-up, n. [...] 2. A line of suspects at the police station where victims of crimes seek to identify their assailants. 3. Presentation on a platform before assembled policemen and detectives to enable them to note professional criminals.

6. (US prison) a loyal, dependable friend.

2002

(con. 1998–2000) J. Lerner You Got Nothing Coming 73: You know you gotta get yourself some stand-ups when you hit the yard. Walking the yard by yourself could be bad for your health.