Definition of the word string up

The phrase "string up" can be traced back to the early 1800s, primarily in North American English. It originally referred to the process of hanging a person by suspending them from a length of cord, or "string," typically in a public place as a form of punishment or execution. This usage was common during the Wild West era, when public hangings were a spectacle in small towns and frontier communities. The term was also used in the context of lynching, a form of vigilante justice in which a mob would forcibly hang a person accused of a crime, usually without benefit of trial. Over time, the usage of "string up" expanded to include other forms of suspending or hoisting an object by a string. This could refer to hanging laundry on a clothesline, for example, or hanging furniture or other items during the process of moving. In modern usage, "string up" is often used figuratively to describe preparing for a task, such as stringing up questions for an interview or stringing up a list of tasks for the day ahead. The original, more graphic meaning of the phrase has largely fallen out of favor, but the expression remains a colorful and evocative part of early American English.