pull one's socks up

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

pull one's socks up (third-person singular simple present pulls one's socks up, present participle pulling one's socks up, simple past and past participle pulled one's socks up)

1. (idiomatic) To start making an effort; to renew or redouble one's efforts.

   Alternative form: pull up one's socks

   • 2000 October 20, Jeff Zillgitt, “U.S. dominates first day of Presidents Cup”, in USA Today, retrieved 30 September 2008:

     They're all going to pull their socks up and play a bit better.

Synonyms

• belly up to the bar, get one's act together, knuckle down, roll up one's sleeves, shape up

Translations

start making an effort; to renew or redouble one's efforts

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鼓起勇气 (zh)

• Dutch: een tandje bijzetten
• Finnish: kääriä hihansa, ryhdistäytyä (fi)
• Italian: rimboccarsi le maniche, darsi da fare, prodigarsi (it)
• Polish: zakasać rękawy (roll up one's sleeves)
• Portuguese: pôr a mão na massa (Brazil), pôr as mãos na massa (Portugal)
• Russian: заката́ть рукава́ pf (zakatátʹ rukavá), засучи́ть рукава́ (ru) pf (zasučítʹ rukavá) (roll up the sleeves)
• Spanish: ponerse las pilas (es)